Lux Æterna  UNFINISHED
by drumbjo
Summary: Eric is the Vampire King of Louisiana who orders Bill Compton to procure Sookie. But the telepath is much more than anyone thinks she is. AU
1. Chapter 1

**So, this is my new story now that I've found the time to start writing again. It's AU in a world where Eric was the Vampire King to send Bill to procure Sookie, but the telepath is much more than anyone thinks she is.**

**I have also decided to use Godric in this, so please don't hate me for crossing the worlds over. I wanted a more sympathetic maker for this storyline, and I am not a huge fan of Appius in the books.**

**This was slightly inspired by Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series, which everyone really should read – Cat and Bones are truly great characters. **

**But of course, I don't own The Southern Vampire Mysteries, and nor do I own the Night Huntress series. But boy do I wish I did.**

**Note: Lux Æterna is Latin for 'the eternal light', but is also the name of one of my favourite pieces of music from the Aronofsky film **_**Requiem for a Dream**_** by Clint Mansell. **

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><p><strong>.<strong>

**Lux ****Æ****terna – Chapter One**

"You wished to see me, your majesty?"

I didn't look up, and remained sitting motionless in the large leather chair behind my impressively imposing desk and carried on reading the document in my hand while Bill Compton waited for me to finish. It wasn't an important document, and I'd had already memorised it, but I took satisfaction in leaving Compton to stand waiting for me.

Finally, once I'd spent much longer than necessary reading the document, I removed my legs from the desk and sat up straight in the chair. I indicated for Compton to sit down in the chair opposite me, and the younger vampire did so immediately.

"You're originally from Bon Temps?" I asked, although I already knew this to be accurate.

"I am."

"And you have family there?"

"My only remaining relative died there recently."

I already knew this as my child Pamela had been the one to kill the old human, making it look like an accident rather than a vampire attack. It also meant that he owned a house in the small town as new laws meant that vampires could own property.

"It has come to my attention that there is a human living in Bon Temps that may be a telepath. You are to go to Bon Temps to find out whether this is true."

Compton shifted nervously in his seat, an action which was distinctly un-vampire like. I knew all too well that he did not like the task that he'd been given, and I waited patiently for Bill to complain. Which of course, and as predicted, he did.

"With all due respect sir, your child is Sheriff of Area Five. Can she not see this telepath and see if the reports are correct?"

I didn't answer him, but instead slowly stood up and walked around the large desk so that I was leaning on the front of it and only inches away from Compton.

The room was large, with dark woods, rich burgundy walls and various lamps lighting the room rather than one overhead light source. I preferred this, as strip lighting seemed too clinical to me, and lamps reminded me of a safer version of candlelight without the fire hazard.

Compton sank back into the chair, and he knew instantly that he should have kept his displeasure to himself. Bill knew well enough that I wasn't his biggest fan, but with the database of all known vampires that he was producing, he also knew that I wasn't going to kill him. Or not yet, at least.

Compton was a fan of the pomp and circumstance of the Louisiana Court with its bounteous females and blood-bags on tap, and he'd become far too accustomed to it. Added to the fact that Compton was power hungry a natural brown-noser, it only made me wish to be rid of him more.

"My child _is_ Sheriff, and she has other duties that do not concern you." I used my height to intimidate him as I towered over him sat in the chair. "You are local to the area, and you are to make yourself known and accustomed with the locals. You are to make it known that you are mainstreaming and that you do not wish them any harm. You will then find this Sookie Stackhouse and establish whether the information I have is correct or not."

"Yes, your majesty," Bill said with a bow of his head, to which I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"Only then will you contact either Pamela or, in her absence, myself. You are to tell no other vampire or being of this suspicion on pain of final death, and you are not to bite this human or give her any of your blood. You are only to establish if she is a telepath or not. Glamour her or one of her family if you know no other way of finding out."

There was a flash of annoyance in Bill's dull brown eyes at the last request, but he nodded his agreement to me.

"You will leave later on tonight. Make sure that you are packed."

"But…"

I shot him a look that said 'shut up', and he did just that. He stood up slowly, nodded once and exited the room. Once gone, I allowed myself a smile before picking up the phone on the secure line and dialled the number for my child.

"_Maker, to what do I owe the pleasure of your call?"_ Pam answered immediately, but her tone was as bored as ever.

"I have good news for you. I am sending Compton to stay in Bon Temps. I have –"

"_Good news for you, maybe,"_ she interrupted her tone bitter. _"Why do I want him in my area?"_

"Because I don't want him in mine!" I joked back. Pam was the only vampire other than Godric that I let my act down with, and that was only when we were alone. "I have some information regarding one of the human residents. I've been told that she may be a telepath."

"_Is that really something to trust Compton with?" _

She had a point, and I'd been debating with myself whether Compton was the right vampire for the job. But it was true that as a local to the area he would be easily able to absorb himself into the small town society so seemed to be the logical choice, even if I didn't personally like him. And the vampire knew which side his fangbanger was buttered, so knew not to piss me off.

"Honestly, Pam, I don't believe it to be true, but I wouldn't be being prudent if I didn't investigate it. I have never met a telepath before, and I don't believe that Godric has met one either."

"_So the chances are fairly slim,"_ Pam agreed. _"How did you hear about this?"_

"One of the blood-bags in the Palace started to boast that her cousin was telepathic. I glamoured her, and she certainly believes it to be the case. But she's also a drug addict, so I'm still not confident that she's telling the truth." It was well known that glamouring could be subjective when the human genuinely believed something to be true, and drug addicts in particular were known to be unreliable. "But I want Compton watched. I don't fully trust him, and I'm looking for an excuse to end him."

"_Maybe he could trip, fall and land on something wooden and pointy?"_

I smiled. "If only. His bitch maker would have to be dealt with, though. Although here's hoping that she carries on pissing Edgington off. If I find out that she's a pile of ashes, her child will be next in line."

Lorena Ball was known to be a crazy as any vampire and more insane than most, but she was annoyingly protective of her progeny Bill Compton, for some unknown reason. It meant that, unfortunately, if anything happened to Compton she'd be out for retribution. And despite the six hundred or so years I had on her, her unpredictability made her a dangerous vampire.

"_I'll have him watched. A crime of treason is hard to justify."_

"Quite. I've told him to report to you once he has his findings. If it seems she is telepathic, let me know straight away and I will deal with this personally."

"_Will do."_

We both hung up the phone without a farewell, and I sank back into my chair and carried on plodding through my emails. There was something to be said for a world without email as it made life, or undeath, a lot busier. But any vampire had to move with the times if they wanted to stay corporeal, and embracing human technology was part of that.

I wasn't confident that Pam would report that this breather was a telepath, and I was also interested to know how Compton would go about trying to prove it. Instead, I ordered my dinner from the menu provided by the Palace Madame and chose a redhead to snack on and relieve a little tension.

.

**Sookie**

"Order up, Sook."

I turned quickly and headed back to the kitchen, giving Lafayette a grin as he handed me the basket of chicken and curly fries, and I placed it in front of Sheriff Bud Dearborne with a smile. I quickly checked to see that all my tables were happy, and I went to stand at the bar for a glass of water.

"I wish I had your energy," Arlene complained as she came to stand next to me. "My feet are killing me, and I'm fit to drop. You're just some kind of freak."

In her thoughts, she called me much worse but I rammed up the walls of my mind and ignored her internal musings. I knew she didn't mean it particularly maliciously, but she was jealous of the fact that I didn't get as tired as the other waitresses.

I'd always been that way; I managed perfectly well on three or four hours' sleep, and despite the fact that I truly loved the sun (sunbathing was my one major sin), I'd always felt energised as soon as the sun set.

"I guess I'm just lucky," I defended with a smile. I knew better than to rise to her bait.

I'd been working at Merlotte's Bar and Grill since I returned to Bon Temps after getting my degree at Tulane University down in New Orleans. I'd majored in English Literature, but as I didn't want to become a teacher, I'd found very little use for my degree, and with the job market as it was, I was struggling to find a job.

Even though my parents had died when I was only seven, I was lucky in that I lived with my Gran so I wasn't homeless at least. And although I paid her a little rent each month and helped with the groceries and jobs around the house, I was able to save each month with a view to eventually leaving home and moving to Shreveport to get a job doing something I was more interested in. Not that I didn't enjoy waitressing, but I always viewed it as a stopgap to something more.

I'd been lucky in that my grandfather had left money for both my brother Jason and I to go to college, albeit Jason hadn't used his for that purpose and had instead blown the lot of some ridiculous truck and other toys for the bachelor pad of his that used to be our parents' home. I'd often wondered quite how Jason – who was three years older than me – and I were related, as other than the same blonde hair and blue eyes, we were nothing alike.

And thinking of the devil, my brother walked into Merlotte's with three of his friends and went to sit in their usual booth. I knew what they'd be drinking, so ordered two pitchers of beer at the bar and went over with the alcohol before taking their food order.

"Cheers, Sook," Jason said after taking a large slug of beer. "Hey, did you hear that the Compton place next to Gran's has a new owner?"

"No. How'd you hear that?"

He pointed his thumb to Hoyt sat next to him, and answered me once he'd had another slug of beer and taken a handful of the peanuts on the table. He didn't wait to finish masticating before he spoke.

"Hoyt's mom."

He didn't need to say any more than that as everyone knew that there was no bigger gossip in town than Maxine Fortenberry.

"I'll let Gran know, if she doesn't know already." I gave Hoyt a smile and he rolled his eyes, knowing all too well what his mama was like.

I left the boys to their drinking and carried on with my job. However, where I thought the night was just like a normal one, it seems that I was wrong.

I noticed, while stood at the bar, that Sam's posture seemed to suddenly stiffen, and I noticed that his gaze was fixed on the door. Only a second later, a dark-haired man walked gracefully into the bar, looked around, and then sat down at a table in my section in the middle of the bar. I knew instantly that he wasn't alive.

I'd always had better senses than normal, even as a kid, and on top of my telepathy it made me only more of a freak to all the other kids in the town, even if they didn't know the specifics of what was wrong with me. It was why I noticed Sam stiffen, and why my instincts told me not to trust this vampire.

"Careful," Sam mouthed to me. He knew of my quirk, and had always been more accepting of me than a lot of the others in the town. And if I was right, it was because there was something not quite normal about Sam Merlotte. I didn't know what it was, and he'd never trusted me enough to tell me outright, but I knew that there was something _other_ about him even if he didn't look out of the ordinary.

"Will do," I said with a smile and a nod to reassure him.

I slapped my fake smile onto my face and walked through the bar up to the vampire. His eyes had followed me as I approached, and I could see an intensity in his them as if he was trying to control me, or compel me to do something. I'd read internet rumours from the anti-vampire groups that the undead had the ability to control humans, and I wondered whether this was what he was trying to do to me. Whatever it was, it wasn't working.

"Hi, can I help you?" I said in a friendly tone when I approached him. He had a flash of annoyance cross his face, before he regained his control and turned on the charm.

"You can … Sookie Stackhouse." His eyes had lingered over my nametag on my chest, and he had a satisfied smirk on his face. "Do you have any True Blood?" he was smiling at me now, and I had to admit that the vampire was good looking, but there was just something I didn't trust about him.

"I'm sorry … we don't. The boss, Sam, bought some when you guys came out of the coffin, but it went out of date. You're Merlotte's first vampire."

He smiled and raised an eyebrow. "It's quite an honour, Sookie. But if I may, I'd like a glass of red wine." I gave him a surprised look, as it was obvious that he wasn't going to drink the stuff. "I'd like to stay here awhile, and I understand that I at least need to order something."

I acknowledged his request and went back to the bar where Sam was already pouring him his drink having overheard our brief conversation. He was still staring at the vampire, and I could sense how uncomfortable he was with having him in the bar.

It seemed strange him being here, as it was quite true that Bon Temps had never had a vampire in its midst before. But this one had a local accent, or at least was putting on a damned good one. I didn't know how good vampires would be at putting on such accents, but I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on that one.

"Thank you very much, Sookie," he purred as I placed a napkin in front of him and then the glass of wine on top of it. I could tell that most of the other patrons of Merlotte's were watching him, and I had to concentrate hard to not hear their thoughts. It was one of the curses of being a telepath that when everyone was thinking the same thing, it was hard to keep their mind-voices out of my head. "Would you care to join me?" He indicated to the empty chair opposite him.

"I'm busy working, I'm afraid." I tried to keep it polite and my smile plastered on my face.

"You surely get a break?"

"When I can. I've just had one, and we're kind of busy here tonight." It was a lie that I'd just taken a break, but I was willing to forego one if it meant that I could avoid him.

"Maybe we can talk when you have finished for the night?"

It was still three hours until the bar closed, and I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at his offer. "I'm fine, really. It was nice to meet you …" I left the question hanging as the vampire had not given me his name.

"The name's Bill."

I suppressed a smile at his name and took the hand that he'd offered. His skin was cool and smooth, which surprised me considered he was so old. Not that I really knew his age, but he had an old-fashioned aura about him that made me think he was at least one hundred years old.

"Bill Compton," he continued, and I felt a chill go down my spine. Was he the new owner of the old Compton place next to my Gran's house? Next to where I lived?

"Compton?" I queried.

"Yes. And I understand that you are Adele Stackhouse's granddaughter. I had a lovely conversation with your Grandmother earlier tonight. She's a great lady." He leaned forward. "I think she's quite taken by me, and I've promised to talk to her civil war group and tell them some of my memories of the war." So he was probably at least one hundred and fifty years old as a vampire.

I was going to have to have words with my Gran about who she let into the house. But then if he had used his mind-control trick on her…

"You've moved into the house next to ours." It was a statement, and I wasn't quite able to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

He gave me smile that could only be described as slightly sinister. "I have. When my last remaining descendant of the Compton line passed away recently his property reverted back to me. I helped to build that house."

"Great," I said in fluent sarcasm. "Are you planning on staying?"

"It is my intention to, yes."

"No offence, but there aren't too many people to eat around here." I heard a gasp from one of the tables nearby, and I looked up to see Maxine Fortenberry intently listening in to my interview with the vampire.

"I am mainstreaming," he informed me. "Blood substitutes are quite able to sustain me so that I will not need to snack on the local population." He said that loud enough for the nosey busybodies to overhear him. It was almost as if he was making a mission statement.

"Okay. Well, it's nice meeting you Bill Compton."

I turned quickly to not give him any time to speak to me further, and I remained busy for the rest of the night, Sam seemingly able to find me extra duties to do when none of my tables needed my attention.

Yet the vampire remained in his seat, and I could feel his eyes on me the whole time that he was in the bar.

.

"He's kind of hot though. I bet he's learnt a few tricks in the bedroom over the decades." Lafayette was peering out of the kitchen and eyeing up our new vampire resident. He even smacked his made-up lips at him, and I couldn't refrain from laughing.

"That's just gross. You get that he's dead, right?"

"Sookie, you don't know what you're missing out on," Dawn Green announced as she placed a pile of empty plates into the kitchen and leaned in closer to Lafayette and me. "Sex with vampires is incredibly hot."

I caught a brief glimpse into her mind of her having naked rough sex with a bald-headed and tattooed vampire while being tied up. It was more than I wanted to see, and I quickly focused on my mental shields.

"There's a vampire club in Shreveport. You should go. Y'know, loosen up a little." She gave me a knowing wink.

I was certainly not planning on attending any vampire club, and even more so after my run in with this vampire. If they were all like him, I was more than happy to stay away.

"You've been bitten?" I asked her, suddenly curious. She grinned and nodded. "Does it hurt?"

"Hell no. It's the most pleasurable thing I've ever felt, particularly when they bite your femoral artery. I nearly passed out from that orgasm."

She luckily turned quickly on her heal and walked away from us. Lafayette gave me an understanding look and carried on with his job. I looked over to see that the vampire was still sitting at the table in the centre of the room with his full glass of red wine, but Sam caught my attention and nodded for me to join him in his office. Once inside, he turned up the radio, obviously so our conversation wasn't overheard.

"You okay, Sam?"

"I'm not happy about him being in here. Bon Temps was fine without any vampires living here, and now one just shows up."

"You're thinking that it's suspicious?"

"Maybe. He's living next to you?"

"It seems that way," I said with a shrug of annoyance. "I really don't like him. There's something untrustworthy about him."

"He's a vampire, Sook. They're all untrustworthy."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "And how many have you met?"

"A few," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"How?"

"It was a few years back, and not around here."

"Vampires only made themselves known two years ago. How long have you known?" I glared at him and waited for his answer.

"Awhile. There are things in this world that you don't understand, and I need you stay away from them."

"You need me to stay away from them?" I repeated back to him, a sharp tone in my voice. "You are _not_ my dad or my boyfriend, and you do not get to tell me what to do. And anyway, how do you know?"

"I just do, Sook," he snapped back before calming himself a little and taking my hand in his. "I'm your friend; I want to look out for you."

"I get that, Sam. But you don't need to protect me. I do get that there are other things in this world; I'm a telepath, remember? It's not as if there are many of us knocking around." Sam was one of the few that knew the truth about my disability.

"I know." A sudden strange look crossed his face, and he tiled his scruffy dark blond head to the side in a manner that reminded me of Lassie. "Can you hear him?"

I frowned, knowing what he was referring to. "I didn't really attempt to. I was blocking out everyone else, so I didn't specifically try to see if I could hear him. Why, do you think I'd not be able to?"

"I don't know Sook, he's dead after all. But trust me; if you can hear him, you need to keep that to yourself. Don't even tell me." There was a glimpse of fear in his eyes, and I knew he was being serious.

"Sure thing, Sam." I was just about to leave his office, when I stopped, turned and faced him again. "You know, you can trust me with whatever you're hiding. I won't think any different of you."

"You … you haven't looked?"

"You're my friend, Sam. I try and stay out of my friends' minds. And anyway, you've always been harder to read than other people. I normally only get emotions from you."

I gave him a smile and went back into the bar where the vampire was sitting alone still. I decided to test Sam's theory and went up to him.

"I thought you didn't get a break?" he asked me straight away, his tone slightly malicious and accusatory.

"I didn't. Sam wanted my help with something."

In the brief pause in our conversation, I lowered the shields of my mind and tried to listen to him. But there was nothing. Not a thing. I could tell that he was there, and I could only describe it as a 'void', but there was certainly no thoughts in that void. If I'd trusted the man more I'd have found it quite relaxing.

"I'm sure he did." I noticed that Bill Compton was glaring over my shoulder at Sam as he resumed his position behind the bar.

"Can I get you anything else? We're about to start closing up."

"No, I'm fine. Maybe I could see you home being that we live so close."

"I'm fine, really."

"You can trust me, Sookie." He was intensely gazing into my eyes once more, but I simply looked away and over to Sam who walked up to us.

"Mr Compton, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask you to leave. I will not stand for anyone to threaten or try to intimidate my staff."

Bill stood up and took a step closer to Sam, but to his credit, Sam didn't step back or look at all scared of the vampire.

"I was simply asking Miss Stackhouse if she wished me to escort her home."

"And she declined your offer. Therefore you can leave."

Bill Compton scowled at him and stalked out of the bar. I let out a sigh of relief and looked to Sam. "Stay away from him, cher. I don't like the thought of you getting mixed up with vampires. None of them can be trusted, even ones that claim they're mainstreaming."

"I still want to know how you know more about vampires then the rest of us," I said to him quietly.

"I'll tell you, Sook. Just not now. And please trust me on this one."

"Sure, Sam."

We closed up the bar as normal, and I walked to my little yellow car, but not after scanning the area for signs of any 'voids' which would indicate there was a vampire nearby. Luckily, there was nothing. When I got home Gran was sitting at the table reading a ratty old book she'd no doubt picked up from a second-hand store, although by the looks of it, it was at least forth-hand.

"How was work?" she asked me. She already dressed in her bed-clothes with her dressing gown over the top and a half-drunk mug of hot chocolate on the table. She often waited up for me, despite the fact that I was in my mid-twenties and plenty capable of looking after myself.

"Okay. Although a vampire came in."

I watched her closely for any sign of recognition, but she smiled widely at me when I mentioned it. "You met Mr Compton? Isn't he wonderful? He came and talked to me this evening – he has first-hand memories of the civil war and knew your great-great-great-grandfather very well. He's going to talk to our group!" She was clearly very enthusiastic about Bill's arrival in Bon Temps, and he'd certainly become a hit with my Gran by agreeing to speak at her Descendants of the Glorious Dead meeting.

"Did you talk about me at all?" I asked her, trying to sound innocent. I didn't normally peak into her mind, as I respected her privacy, but on this occasion I did.

"A little. I talked about my family, so obviously about you and Jason, but little else. Why?"

It was strange – in her mind there seemed to be holes where I'd have expected her memories of that to be. It only made me more suspicious of Mr Compton.

"Just wondering, is all. He mentioned you when you came in and knew I was your granddaughter."

She smiled again. "He's such a wonderful man with such old-fashioned values. A man like that would be great for you Sookie." She stood up and patted me on the shoulder as she passed. "I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning. Don't stay up too late."

"Night Gran."

I watched her as she headed down the corridor to her bedroom. I was even more distrustful now as Gran had never been one to comment on my love life – or lack thereof – and I couldn't help but feel that she'd somehow been influenced by this vampire.

As I wasn't tired yet, I grabbed my laptop from my room, and sat down in the living room with a beer. I started searching on the internet for everything I could about vampires, including how to get rid of them. Wikipedia had extensive information on the vampires, although I wasn't sure how much of it was true so I searched other sites as well, including ones of the anti-vampire groups.

One of the consistencies was that a vampire had to be invited into a home, and their invitation could also be rescinded at any point.

"Bill Compton, I rescind your invitation."

Not I that expect it to, but I felt a strange surge through the house that to me indicated that whatever I had just done worked. I at least felt a little safer going to bed knowing that he couldn't come inside and drain me or my Gran of blood while we slept, something that I hadn't actually thought to ask my Gran, but I didn't see any puncture wounds on her neck.

At around three in the morning, I finally started to feel sleepy, so went to take a relaxing warm shower and climbed into my bed. I did a mental check around the house, but luckily didn't find any telltale voids that indicated there were vampires nearby, and I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

.

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><p><strong>So … what do you think? Okay? As I said above, I'm going things a little differently, both with Eric and Sookie. Any theories? <strong>

**I'd love to know your thoughts.**

**Thanks for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks so much for the great response to my last chapter, and to everyone who has taken the time to alert, favourite or review my story.**

**Sorry for the delay in posting, I forgot to mention that I was spending a few days in London this week, so I haven't had as long to write this week.**

**You'll recognise some bits from the books, and I'll follow things to some extent, but not completely and not for too long. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter…**

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><p><strong>Lux Æterna - Chapter 2<strong>

**.**

**Eric**

I'd just finished zipping up the flies of my jeans having enjoyed an attractive brunette when Pam phoned me on my private line. I dismissed the human, but didn't bother putting on my shirt. I grabbed the phone and sank into the chair behind my desk.

"Report," I ordered when answering her, she was due to update me with the news on Compton and the telepath. He'd been gone since the weekend, and I'd expected news by now.

"_It seems your source was telling the truth. Compton has reported to me tonight that the human apparently is a telepath."_

I had to admit to being surprised, something that truly happened very rarely. "How has he discovered this?"

"_Apparently, Compton's house is next to the one owned by the Stackhouses. He glamoured her grandmother who admitted the information to him. It seems Bill is quite a hit with the old lady!" _She chuckled darkly at Compton's expense.

"It's not been independently validated?"

"_Not yet. Although as you requested, I had Compton followed and watched. It seems the human wasn't keen on Compton and kept her distance from him. She didn't give him the opportunity to test her abilities."_

"Smart girl," I interrupted.

"_Quite." _

"Can she read vampire minds?"

"_Compton thinks not, although again this is not validated. However, whether she knows it or not, it seems that she is friends with a true shifter. Sam Merlotte is the owner of the bar where she works."_

I knew of Merlotte and growled to myself. He could cause a problem, as shifters weren't as easy to glamour as humans were, and if we were to take her from her home to New Orleans, he could cause problems. Not that the situation wasn't completely lost, as there were other ways to silence the shifter if necessary.

Pam continued. _"And it seems that she cannot be glamoured."_

That surprised me further, and not to mention caused more potential problems. "What?" I had never met a human before that could not be glamoured, and that she was a telepath as well only made this more intriguing.

"_Compton tried on numerous occasions, not that he told me this information. He only passed on the bare minimum of facts."_

"Keep an eye on her, but keep Compton away from her as well. I don't want her to go running from him. I'm busy in meetings the next two nights, but I will be there on Saturday."

"_I'll let you know what I find out,"_ Pam told me before we both hung up.

I sat down at my desk and pondered what my child had told me. In not truly believing that this human would turn out to be a telepath, I hadn't properly considered what would be done with her. But there was no doubt that she was a valuable find and would be an asset to my kingdom.

That she couldn't be glamoured, however, was a problem and one I had certainly not anticipated. It meant that she may need to be handled more delicately than simply glamouring her into submission, and it was why I told Pam to keep Compton away from her. If she was distrustful of him, he may spook her and I wasn't going to lose this human to another state. It meant I'd need to deploy a different tactic in managing her.

I sent a couple of emails off to day-man Bobby Burnham to arrange the immediate preparation of one of the guest suites for our potential visitor. The room I'd chosen was large and comfortable with a large and luxurious bathroom and small kitchen for her more human needs. But it also allowed adequate security so she would not be able to escape, being on the top floor of the palace. I also arranged for her to be provided with all the amenities a human would require, and once Pam was able to tell me what size she was, I would arrange for clothes to be bought.

I could have done without the all night meetings the next few days, but things were already set up and I was unable to cancel at this late stage. However I trusted Pam to keep things under control in Bon Temps, and soon enough I would be able to meet my telepath.

.

**Sookie**

I'd woken up around half-seven in the morning and went for a run in the woods behind our house before returning, showering and going down for breakfast. Gran was a big fan of cooking me a large breakfast, and Jason more often than not turned up as well, loving our Gran's cooking as much as I did.

When I entered the kitchen, Jason was helping himself to slices of crispy bacon using his fingers, which earned him a slap on the back of the hand from Gran.

"Jason Stackhouse, stop acting like an animal."

I couldn't resist the smile as Gran scolded him, and he gave me an evil look, cursing me in his mind, as he knew perfectly well I'd hear him. Gran was called away by the sudden, shrill ringing of the house phone, but Jason and I carried on helping ourselves to breakfast. I was pleased that Gran knew how much my brother normally ate as if not there'd be nothing left for me.

I listened with interest to Gran's side of the call. If I'd wanted to, I probably could have heard the other side as well, but I waited patiently for Gran to tell us rather than eavesdropping. By the half-sentences that Gran was managing, I assumed that it was probably Maxine Fortenberry on the phone, as the woman could talk the hind legs of a donkey.

Jason and I had finished our breakfasts by the time Gran came back into the kitchen, and I could tell by the sombre expression on her face that something was obviously wrong.

"Gran, what is it?" I didn't want to intrude on her privacy by peaking inside her mind.

She sat down at the table with both of us and looked at us in turn. "It seems that Maudette Pickens was found murdered in her apartment this morning."

"Oh no!" I exclaimed.

"Maxine said that she was found strangled and naked in her bed."

I knew Maudette from high school. She'd been a couple of years older than me, and we'd never been friends, but I didn't want to see her dead. She was also one of the many females of Bon Temps that Jason had an on-and-off-again relationship with. I looked over to my brother to see that he was a few shades whiter than he had been before, the look of horror clear on his face.

"Jason?" I queried. I looked to Gran to see that her eyes were on Jason as well.

"I didn't do it!" he blurted out, looking at each of us in turn.

"We don't think you did," Gran said gently.

"The cops will! I was with Maudette last night, but she was breathing when I left her. I didn't fucking kill her."

"Language, Jason." Gran always told us off for bad language no matter how justified it was, and in the case, I certainly couldn't condemn his use.

My brother looked pleadingly at me, and showed me images of the last time he saw Maudette alive. I have to admit that I didn't want to see her sex face or the fact that she looked freshly fucked when he left her, but the one thing she was was alive.

"I believe you Jase."

Jason gave a small shrug and had a sheepish look on his face. "Can you help me … you know … with your …" he pointed to the temple of his head and I knew what he meant. As a rule, no one in my family mentioned my telepathy, but they knew it was real. And Jason was right in saying that I was the best person to help him.

"Of course, Jason. But the police need to be the ones who deal with this."

"Sure." He sounded reluctant.

"Were you seen with Maudette?" Gran asked him.

"Yeah … I met her at Merlotte's last night, and everyone knew that I left with her. I'm guessing Andy's gonna want to speak to me about that." He put his head in his hands, but still helped himself to another slice of bacon.

"Just be honest. You didn't do it."

"I know … but Andy's always hated me."

Jason had had more than his fair share of run-ins with the police and sheriff's departments since he was a teenager, and therefore wasn't on good terms with Sheriff Bud Dearborne or detective Andy Bellefleur. It had to be said that Jason was a terror as a kid, although he'd run rings around both the sheriff and his detective. But now was their chance to get one back on him even if Jason's freedom was at stake.

I had to admit that although I knew Jason was innocent, I also knew that considering the circumstances he was the prime suspect.

"Maybe it was that vampire?" Jason suddenly suggested, his tone cheerful all of a sudden.

"Bill Compton?" I hadn't thought about him.

"You're on first name terms with him, Sook? I saw you talking to him last night."

I turned to Jason and scowled. "He was talking to me; I didn't want anything to do with him." I looked over at Gran for her opinion.

"He seemed so nice. I don't believe that that nice young man would do that."

"Gran!" Jason and I both exclaimed at the same time as we stared at her.

"He's hardly young, Gran," I said more gently. "He must be at least one hundred and fifty years old. And I have to say that I don't trust him. I know you liked him, Gran, but there something off about him."

"I trust your judgement, Sookie, but I don't think we should be so quick to condemn him."

"I don't see why not," Jason interrupted. "His murdering people might get blamed on me, and I'm fucked if that's going to happen."

"Jason Stackhouse!" Gran clipped him around the ear for his bad language before moving to the sink to start washing up the breakfast dishes.

"However…" I started as a thought struck me. "Why would a vampire strangle someone?"

"Who knows?" Jason answered. "But Maudette had been with a vampire before. She had bite marks inside her thighs and said sex with vampires was the best she'd ever had. I'd planned on proving her wrong."

I didn't need to know about his sex life. And the fact that Maudette had been killed by strangulation did strike me as something a vampire wouldn't do. Not that I really knew vampires at all, but it was still odd.

.

I was working the lunchtime shift with Dawn and Arlene that afternoon, but the talk was solely on Maudette's murder. Jason had taken my advice and gone to see Andy Bellefleur earlier on in the day of his own accord to recount his tale of events as he was probably the last person to see her alive. I didn't know whether it would help him at all, but to me it sure made him look less guilty if he went willingly. Not that I thought it would particularly change the mind of Andy Bellefleur. Still, I was sure that there couldn't be any incriminating evidence towards Jason since I knew he didn't do it.

Jason came into the restaurant at around two in the afternoon looking both stressed and tired. He sat with Hoyt and Arlene's latest victim-turned-fiancé Rene Lenier, who both worked on the road crew with my brother. I gave him a small smile as he looked over at me.

_They had to let me go, but I know they don't believe me. I'm in deep shit, Sook, you have to help me._

Jason didn't often project his thoughts at me like that, and he hadn't really done so since we were both kids, but I understood his need now. I gave him a small supportive smile and carried on with my work. It was busier than normal on a Thursday afternoon, and it seemed like the whole town had decided to congregate in Merlotte's to discuss the recent goings on and theorise about Maudette's murder.

It caused havoc with my mental shields, and I was grateful when the time came for my break so I could slip out the back of the bar.

"Tough day?" Sam said as he came to sit next to me. His mind was never as intrusive as the other residents of Bon Temps.

"Yeah … everyone seems to be screaming at me today in their minds. It's giving me a headache." Sam smiled at me and handed me a bottle of aspirin. I downed a couple of pills with the glass of water he also provided.

"You're a star, Sam."

I didn't need to read his mind to know, but it was obvious that Sam held me in high regard to the point that he seemed to have a crush on me. But he was my boss and a friend, and although I seemingly wouldn't have the same problem with him that I had with most other men when it came to hearing his every thought, I only viewed Sam as a friend.

"Jason didn't do it," I stated.

When I had arrived at Merlotte's earlier on in the day, it seemed that most people already knew that Jason was talking to the police about Maudette's murder, and that he was the last person to see her alive. It meant that they had already assumed he was guilty, and most didn't mind telling me that, let alone thinking it.

"I didn't think he did."

"Could that vampire have done it?" I had wanted to ask Sam that question since he seemed to know more about vampires than he was letting on.

Sam shook his head. "Strangulation is not a vampire's style … and it's unusual for one to not at least feed on the human. From what I've heard there were no new bite marks on her and she wasn't lacking in blood. Vampires aren't that sloppy and they'd never miss out on a free meal." I didn't want to know exactly how Sam knew the information about Maudette's condition , but I remained quiet. "I'd say that whoever killed Maudette was human."

There was something odd in the way that Sam said 'human'. It was as if he wasn't just talking about vampires and humans, but other things. But then I'd often thought that, logically, if vampires were real, who knew what else was out there. And I now knew that where I could read most people, I couldn't read a vampire's mind. Was Sam something in between?

"What are you, Sam?"

I'd decided bluntness was the best option.

He turned to me, a shocked expression on his face for a brief moment before he gave me a sly smile. "You always were perceptive, Sook. I'm surprised you haven't asked before."

I shrugged. "I thought if you wanted to tell me you would. Now I think I want to know."

"You'll keep this quiet?"

I snorted. "Of course. You have no idea how many secrets I know, Sam. I can add this one to them."

"I'm a shape-shifter."

"You what?" I looked at him stunned.

"A shifter, a true born one. I can change into any animal I please."

"Like a werewolf?"

"No, werewolves can only shift into wolves."

"There are werewolves?" I was flabbergasted at what Sam had just told me. And not only were there shape-shifters, but apparently werewolves as well.

He smiled at me, his expression showing that a weight had been lifted off his mind. "Yeap." He popped the 'p' of the word. "And much more, but you don't need to know it all right now. I'm sure there are things that I don't even know about."

"Wow."

"I know, and as I said, you need to keep this to yourself."

"Of course … I'm just a little stunned."

"It also means that I have better senses than most humans. My senses of sight, hearing and smell are better in my human form, but hugely improved when I'm in my animal form."

"So you can change into any animal you want? Is that … like just on full moons?"

He shook his head. "We have to shift on the full moon, but otherwise I can change whenever I want to. Although I find it easiest if I have a visual reference to look at when I change."

"What do you normally change into?"

"A collie."

I couldn't hold back the snort of laughter, but I stopped when I saw the offended expression on Sam's face. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to insult you … I just thought you'd turn into a lion or tiger or something a little more exotic." I knew I would.

He shrugged. "I can do, but a lion or tiger running around these parts may get noticed, they're not exactly indigenous to the area. I chose a collie because it's discrete and no one notices me. You'll be amazed what you can overhear when no-one thinks you're listening." I had a feeling that I already knew.

"I get that." I looked down at my watch to see that my break was already over. "I'd better get back to work … I don't want my boss to bite me! Although apparently his bark is worse than his bite."

Sam simply rolled his eyes and we both walked back inside.

.

I was relieved that the vampire didn't come back into the bar that night or the next one, but I did notice some people I'd never seen before, and Sam seemed a little on edge with them in the bar. He didn't say or do anything, however, so I wasn't overly concerned. The police had done little to further their investigations, so my brother remained the prime suspect in their eyes.

For my part, I paid extra attention to the locals, listening in more to thoughts than I normally would do, but it was hard work doing that as my concentration levels needed to be on top form. It was also hugely subjective as people only thought about one or two things at once, and I couldn't listen in to everyone in the bar at once.

On the Saturday morning I was working the lunchtime shift again, but Sam had called me when I was on my way to work as apparently Dawn Green hadn't shown up that morning to help unload the delivery. It wasn't the first time that she'd missed the start of a shift, and she apparently wasn't answering her phone. Sam knew that I had to pass by Dawn's apartment on my way to the bar, so I agreed to call in on her as I passed.

When I arrived at her apartment, there was an eerie silence that put me at unease, and I noticed that the screen door wasn't closed as I'd expect it to be. I knocked loudly a few times, but when there was no answer I pushed the door open and let myself into the apartment.

I carried on calling her name, but couldn't help but notice the signs of a struggle. A feeling of dread filtered over me, and I had a very bad feeling that the same thing that happened to Maudette may have happened to Dawn. When I finally entered her bedroom, I wasn't proved wrong.

I let out an instinctive scream as I saw her dead body laid naked on the bed, and I turned quickly, but only to walk straight into Jason.

"Sookie?"

I didn't answer him, and he looked over the top of my head to see the body of Dawn laying there.

"Fuck!" he hissed, moving to try to touch her, but I pulled him back. I noticed only then that he had a bunch of flowers in his hand, and he was obviously there to see my dead former co-worker.

"Don't touch her, Jason. We need to call the police."

"I was with her last night …" he started before he ran out of the apartment, dry heaving as he sat on the porch steps.

"Jason … I know you didn't do this."

"Yeah … but the police aren't going to believe that."

I left him alone while I put in a call to the local police as well as Sam, who would need to know not only as Dawn wouldn't be turning up for work, or the fact that he owned the apartment she lived in, but because I assumed his sense of smell may come in handy.

Unfortunately, the police arrived first meaning that Sam was unable to enter the building, and they also needed to speak to him as owner of the apartment complex. Both Jason and I were taken in to give out statements, but where I was let go afterwards, it seemed the police had additional questions to ask my brother and I doubted that he had an alibi.

I was mentally exhausted by the time I finally got to Merlotte's. Sam had closed the bar for the afternoon, but again everyone in the town had congregated in the bar that evening. I wasn't really due to be working, but considering how busy the remaining servers were, I happily chipped in even though the talk was again that Jason was the prime suspect for her death.

"Why don't you head home, Sook." Sam came up to me after a few hours, placing a warm hand on my shoulder. He knew that because of the packed bar I'd was struggling with my mental shields. "You don't have to be here."

"Thanks, Sam. I may disappear if that's alright. You'll be okay here?"

"Yeah. We're fine. I'll come by and see you tomorrow."

I gave Sam a half-hug, went into his office to pick up my personal belongings and then walked out to my car.

"Sookie Stackhouse."

It wasn't a question. The voice in the darkness was smooth and accented, and darkly alluring. I looked up but I couldn't see where the voice had come from. My car was parked at the end of the parking lot where there wasn't much light to go on.

I felt a chill fall over me, and I fumbled with my keys, desperate to leave. I pulled them out of my purse, but before I had chance to open up my car, the keys had disappeared from my hand.

"Who's there?" I shouted into the darkness. I was hoping that maybe Sam would hear me. I scanned the area around me and picked up two voids in the vicinity.

Vampires.

"Come out here!" I challenged more bravely than I felt.

I heard a dark chuckle before a tall, blond man walked into the minimal light. My initial reaction that he although he oozed confidence and I could almost feel the power rolling off him, he was incredibly handsome. But this man was dangerous. He didn't have the same aura about him as Bill Compton had … he didn't feel as creepy as Mr Compton had done, but I knew he was dangerous in a very different way.

The vampire was staring at me hard, and I could almost feel the intensity rolling off him. But I wasn't going to back down or let him get the better of me, even though I knew he easily could do.

"Who are you?"

The vampire gave me a dazzling smile, which only made him more handsome. He was wearing a pair of dark, well-fitting jeans, black boots and a black wife-beater vest that accentuated his pale, chiselled and muscled arms. He had long blond hair that framed his masculine features, and bright blue eyes, which were pinning me to the spot.

"My name is Eric Northman."

I swallowed thickly. "How can I help you, Mr Northman? I'd be grateful for my keys back."

"I wish to speak with you, Miss Stackhouse."

"How do you know my name? Did you send that other vampire to spy on me?"

"Yes." He had no shame, apparently.

"Why?"

"Because I understand that you are special."

"What do you mean?" I crossed my arms across my chest.

"You are a telepath." It was again a statement rather than a question.

"How do you know that?"

"That is not of your concern."

"I'm thinking it is," I snapped back at him. "What do you want with me?"

The vampire's intensity only grew and he took a few steps closer to me, backing me up against my car so that there was only a foot or so in distance between us.

I was strangely drawn to him, and I couldn't deny the familiarity I felt around him. I didn't know why, I had never met this vampire before but somehow there was something I recognised about him, almost as if there was a part of me that called to him, or vice versa. I felt so much more comfortable around him than I did with Bill Compton, but I couldn't work out what or why exactly it was.

He didn't answer me, but simply stepped closer and trapped me against my car, his arms forming an impenetrable cage around me, and his hard body pushing me into the metal behind. I really didn't want to, but the man and the situation turned me on, and I was scared that he somehow knew how he was affecting me.

I was trapped, but I was also a willing victim. In truth, I probably wouldn't have pulled away from him if it were possible. The man had me mesmerized. And it wasn't like he was controlling me, or not in the sense that I understood vampires could do … but I was simply drawn to him.

However, that didn't mean I was going to give in, and I slapped him with all my might across his face. He didn't even try to stop me, and I could only imagine that, considering the pain in my hand, I had hurt myself more than him.

"Get away from me," I barked at him, but he simply smiled and ignored me.

I pushed my telepathy at him, seeing if I could hear his mind, and for the briefest of moments I thought that I might have gotten a snippet from him even though I didn't understand what I had heard. But as soon as it was there, it was gone again. And what's more, the vampire obviously knew what I was doing.

"Do not do that," he hissed, his features darkening. I noticed that his fangs had slid down, and where I probably should have been scared of them, my instinct was to reach out and stroke them. Luckily for me, I managed to control myself as that would be something akin to sticking my head in the lion's mouth.

The vampire leaned down slowly towards me, his eyes meeting mine the whole way until we could no longer keep eye contact, and he ran his cool nose along my throat. He was obviously breathing in my scent, and I swallowed nervously from the closeness of him.

In a sharp movement, however, he suddenly pulled back from me, surprise in his eyes. I felt a wave of fear cross me as he glared at me, and I waited for him to speak further.

"Why do you smell of Godric?"

* * *

><p><strong>So … thoughts? Comments? Why does she smell of Godric?<strong>

**Thanks for reading, I really appreciate everyone who's taken the time to read this. **

**I hope to update again mid-week.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks again for the great response to the last chapter. I seem to have thrown you all off course with the little revelation at the end of the chapter. All will be explained in time…**

**And sorry for the delay in posting … my fault completely!**

**In this chapter, please remember that Eric is the ruthless vampire King who's just found himself a very valuable asset.**

**Lux Æterna – Chapter 3**

* * *

><p>"Who's Godric?"<p>

The human was staring back at me, with a look of confusion on her attractive face. I hated that I was unable to glamour her – something I had tried three times since meeting her – and I momentarily resented not being able to garner the truth out of her by my usual means.

"You have not met a vampire by the name of Godric?" I stepped closer to her again in an attempt to intimidate her, although in fairness she was doing better at standing her ground than even most vampires would in my presence, even if she didn't know who I was.

"The very first vampire I met was your lackey Bill Compton three days ago."

I couldn't help but being entertained at her description of Compton, and I felt Pam's amusement as she listened in.

"Then why do you smell of him?"

"I'm fucked if I know," she snapped back with attitude I wasn't used to. "Are you going to give me my car keys back so I can go home?"

"No. You and I need to talk in private."

I could see that she was about to scream for help and I quickly pulled her to me, her back to my front as I clamped a hand tightly over her mouth and shot up into the air. I felt Pam's annoyance at my display of theatrics, but I'd already told her to meet us back at Fangtasia, as she'd take the more traditional over-land route. Pam would also make sure that Miss Stackhouse's car was returned home, having already glamoured her Grandmother into believing that Sookie was staying with a friend.

I could sense her fear as we flew quickly towards Shreveport, but having her in my arms wasn't an unpleasant feeling. She was small yet curvy like a real woman should be, and she definitely had some fight in her, something that was distinctly lacking in the majority of the meals I snacked on these days. In truth, that she couldn't be glamoured just presented me with an enjoyable challenge, and one I planned on overcoming.

Since Compton had reported her abilities to her, Pam had sent two weres to keep an eye on Miss Stackhouse, and the vampire in question was also under surveillance having been given strict instructions to stay away from the telepath. In his fairness to him, he did as he was told. Which was almost disappointing.

Pam and I had been waiting by her car for around an hour before she finally came out at the Shifter's insistence. He didn't know we were there as I'm sure he would have kept her inside if that was the case, but I took the opportunity as it presented itself. Pam had remained hidden within the treeline, not that I needed the backup, but more that she was interested in seeing this human.

But when I got closer to her, she was even more surprising. She certainly had some spunk about her, and I admired that in a breather. But when I went to breathe in her unique scent, I noticed something not so unique about it.

Godric. My maker.

It was faint, and I wondered whether even Pam would be able to discern it, but it was certainly there. And more so, it wasn't on her, but rather in her. Somehow, she'd had Godric's blood direct from the source. The current drug craze of V meant that those humans drinking it felt the momentary effects of vampire blood, but it wore off quickly and although a vampire could tell if a human had consumed V, they wouldn't be able to say from which vampire.

But this was different. When a human drunk straight from the source it created a kind of bond and that vampire's essence and scent remained within the human.

Which was what I sensed in Sookie.

I landed on the roof of Fangtasia, keeping her tight in my embrace with my hand over her mouth as I reached for the hatch and gently floated us inside. I only let her go when we were safely inside the locked office.

"What the fuck!" she hissed at me as I sat behind Pam's desk, putting my feet up on the dark wood and knowing that Pam would have words with me about it. "You're fucking kidnapping me now?"

"Do you kiss your grandmother with mouth?"

"Fuck you."

"Tell me."

"Tell you what?" she was pacing and I could almost feel that anger rolling off her as the adrenaline pumped through her body. It made her already pleasant blood smell even better, and I was almost salivating at the thought of tasting her.

"How have you had Godric's blood?"

"I don't know who this Godric is!" she snapped back at me, standing still in the centre of the room with her hands on her luscious hips. "And I certainly haven't had any vampire blood. I told you, the first undead person I met was the other night, and I liked him little more than I like you."

She paced for a further five minutes before finally letting out a sigh of resignation and reaching to undo her tight ponytail so that her blonde hair fell loose around her shoulders. She'd been attractive before, but with her hair down, she was truly beautiful.

"Please let me go. My grandmother will be worried about me when I don't return home from work as normal." She was obviously trying a new tactic.

"Your grandmother believes that you are staying with a girlfriend."

She snorted out in bitterness and rolled her eyes. "Well no one will believe that. You obviously haven't done your research." She almost sounded smug.

I raised an eyebrow. "And why will no one believe that?"

"Because I don't exactly have any friends. Other than my boss, Sam, Tara is the only person I would call a friend, and I'd certainly not stay with her and her alcoholic mother in their trailer."

"Why don't you have friends?" I queried of her. I couldn't quite understand why this human would not be popular with other humans, although I would admit to not being up to date on the friendship rituals of humans.

She rolled her eyes and looked away from me. "You already know I'm a freak."

I shot out from behind the desk to stand in front of her. She jumped back at my sudden movement, but I placed a finger underneath her chin so that she was forced to look at me.

"You are a telepath, not a freak." She snorted once more in contempt and looked away. "You have a valuable gift, and one that should not go to waste."

She stepped back from me again and narrowed her eyes. "That's why you're here, isn't it? You want to use me as your personal fucking telepath!"

The anger in her eyes was palpable, and only confirmed when she punched me in the face again. I had to admit that she was stronger than I would have expected her to be, and she even managed to draw blood. I spat out the small amount of blood on the floor and met her eyes once more.

"You need to understand, Miss Stackhouse, that you are only a human."

"Only a human? You are not better than me."

I raised an eyebrow. "Do you consider yourself better than a cow or sheep or pig?"

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"You are human, and humans are food for my kind."

"You see me as cattle?" she hissed. The tone of her voice was both livid and exasperated.

"Not personally; but many vampires do. We are higher up the food chain. As a telepath you are a valuable asset to my kingdom."

She turned away from me in an attempt to get her anger under control. "I am not going to be your slave. Your mind control tricks don't work on me."

I was surprised that she knew this. "How do you know of that?"

She glared at me. "You've heard of the internet, right?" I didn't dignify her with a response and waited for her to continue. "So I googled it. The anti-vampires sites contain all sorts of information, most of it complete crap, but there was mention of your ability for mind control."

I didn't like that she'd been viewing those websites, and it crossed my mind that she may be a sympathiser of the new Fellowship of the Sun organisation, which had appeared not too long after the vampires came out of the coffin. "What is your opinion of vampires, Miss Stackhouse?" I was aware that my tone could be considered threatening.

"Before this week, I didn't have a problem with y'all. I'm not a bigot. But now, having met a few of you … now I'm thinking you're either creepy or manipulative and domineering."

I moved away from her and sat down on Pam's desk facing her, the antique wood creaking under my weight. The human was still glaring at me and dressed in her Merlotte's uniform of a tight white t-shirt and black shorts that accentuated her long, tanned and shapely legs down to her black tennis shoes. I almost wanted to commend Merlotte for having his staff wear such a uniform.

I let out an unnecessary sigh and ran my hand through my hair, running the tangles that had formed from flying out with my fingers.

"How can I trust you, Miss Stackhouse?"

She gave me a querying look. "Why do you need to trust me?"

"Because every instinct I have tells me that I should lock you up and keep you away from other vampires. You are a rare find and a valuable asset. And believe me, if another vampire king found out that I had a telepath they would stop at nothing to take you from me."

"I am not yours," she snapped, her eyes flashing with anger.

"You are in my state. Therefore under vampire law, you are considered my asset."

"Your state?" she gave a contemptuous snort. "You died and made Louisiana yours?"

I smiled a fangy smile. "A vampire by the name of Sophie-Anne Le Clerq. She was queen when I arrived to this state in the mid-sixties. But unfortunately for her, she was careless and murdered by one of her pets a few years later. I made a challenge for her position and so far have been King of Louisiana for forty-three years."

She was staring at me with a slightly open mouth. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Wow. Are you in charge of all the vampires in Louisiana?"

"Yes. And other supernatural creatures as well even if they don't realise it." I smiled to myself on that one.

"Like shape-shifters and werewolves?"

I raised an eyebrow. "You know of them?"

"My boss – Sam – he told me that he's a shifter."

"Can you read his mind?"

"Not really. Although since he's my friend I've never really tried. And I mostly get emotions from him, if anything."

I stood up straight and took a long stride closer to her. "In the parking lot earlier you pushed your telepathy at me. I could feel you trying to read my mind. What did you hear?" I made sure I was as threatening to her as possible. I could see that her eyes had opened wide and the faint scent of fear was escaping her. "Do not think about lying to me, I will know."

"Hardly anything," she whispered. "I didn't 'see' anything but I may have heard a few words; I didn't recognise them though. I don't think it was English."

I gritted my teeth. I often tended to think in my native language, or the more modern Swedish language since that was the place I had lived longest before moving to the New World in the nineteen-sixties. But it meant that she had, in fact, heard a brief glimpse into my thoughts.

I needed to test this.

"I will bring a vampire in here, and I want you to try and read his mind." I could see a shocked expression on her face. "I will not let anything happen to you," I reassured her.

She simply nodded, and I left the room for a few seconds, calling to Longshadow and bringing him into the office. She was standing in exactly the same position when I returned, and I shot her a fangy smile.

"Take a seat, Longshadow." I indicated to the empty wooden chair by the desk and waited as he did as he was told. He cast a concerned look over at Sookie, but respectfully remained quiet.

I indicated for Sookie to stand behind him so out of his eye line and gave her a nod of my head for her to try to read his mind. I could see a look of concentration on her face, but after a few seconds she shook her head.

"Sometimes touch makes things easier," she suggested quietly.

Longshadow stiffened in his seat, but I ordered him to remain still. Sookie placed a fingertip on the top of his arm, but again shook her head.

"You can leave. And you will not tell anyone of this." The vampire nodded to me before leaving the room. I resumed my position perched on the edge of the desk.

"You know the word 'please' right? It's considered polite."

She had her arms crossed against her chest again, and was giving me a petulant glare. I actually found myself admiring her gall.

"Miss Stackhouse, I am the vampire king of this state. I expect respect from the vampires who reside here, and I do not need to be _polite_ to them." She rolled her eyes and ignored my comment.

"Whatever."

I ignored her backchat. "You heard nothing from him?"

"No. And I couldn't read the one who came into Merlotte's either."

"So you are, in general, unable to read vampires." I still didn't like the fact that she had heard a glimpse of my thoughts, but I wondered whether it was anything to do with Godric's blood inside her.

"I can tell where you are though," she offered, capturing my attention once more.

"Explain."

She raised an eyebrow. "Explain _please_."

"Miss Stackhouse, you are trying my patience."

"Yeah, and you're trying mine. I'm the one who's been kidnapped here."

I gritted my teeth. "Fine. Sookie, will you please let me know how you can tell where a vampire is."

"Certainly Eric," she said in an overly friendly manner for effect. "Although I can't read a vampire's mind, you register as the absence of thoughts. Like a hole or a void in the space around."

That was certainly interesting, and even though she couldn't read vampire's minds, she'd be able to say how many vampires were in any one area.

"What is your range?"

"My range?"

"Yes. How far away do you have to be to read a human's mind, or be able to detect a vampire?"

She just stared at me as if I had asked her to chew off her own arm.

"I asked you a question," I said, getting annoyed by her not answering me.

She sighed, an expression in her eyes that I couldn't quite identify. "I have spent my whole life trying my utmost to _not_ hear people. I try to choose places where there aren't many others around, but on the flip side, if I spend too much time away from others, when I go back into crowds it's hell on earth. My childhood was a nightmare, but at least as a teenager I got better at shielding my mind. Do you have any idea how hard it is to be constantly bombarded by everyone's thoughts? To have your own parents think that there is something wrong with you?" She glared at me and waited for an answer. I gently shook my head in the negative. "So no, I don't know what my fucking range is."

I stood up straight and moved closer to her. There was something about this human that made me almost empathise with her situation, and that was something I had not felt for many centuries, if at all since becoming vampire. She strangely drew me to her, and although I wondered whether it was the call of Godric's blood, I suspected that it was something more than that.

"I would like you to find out," I said gently.

"I'm not your slave."

I clenched my teeth. "I will pay you well. We can create a business agreement and I will pay you by the hour plus any expenses. Name your price."

She stared at me for a moment. "One hundred dollars per hour." She gave me a challenging look, but I couldn't help but smile. "What?" she asked angrily.

"Sookie, I could happily pay you one thousand dollars per hour."

"That's ridiculous."

"I don't think you realise how valuable you are."

"Obviously not," she snapped back at me.

I still wasn't entirely sure what to do with her. I could tie her to a contract, and that was certainly the minimum thing for me to do. But I needed one more guarantee before I was willing to let her go. I bit into my finger and quickly shoved it into Sookie's mouth, holding onto her arm to stop her backing away from me.

"What the hell!" she hissed at me when I withdrew my finger, the blood gone and the wound heeled. There was only a small amount of my blood inside her, but it would be enough to track her if necessary. She was staring at me angrily, almost shaking with her rage.

"Call it a guarantee," I told her calmly.

"A guarantee for what? Are you letting me go?"

"I am. It's against my better judgement, but yes, I will let you go for now. However there are conditions, and if you do not agree to them, you will remain my prisoner."

"Joy," she said sarcastically.

I ignored her comment. "You will not leave Louisiana, and you will be available when I call to you. You will sign the contract to work for me, but you will be paid at a rate of five thousand dollars per hour plus expenses." It was still half of what I would have paid her. "And you will meet with Godric as I wish to know why it is that you smell of him."

"Don't ask for much, do you?"

I didn't answer her, but waited for her agreement. If she wasn't going to agree, I'd take her to the van Pam had already parked around the back of club, drug her and take her back to my palace in New Orleans. This was the one and only chance she was going to get, and if she didn't take me up on my kindness, she'd live to regret it.

"I don't have a choice, do I?" she asked with resignation colouring her voice.

"No, you do. You just may not like the other option."

"Fine. I agree to your terms, oh powerful Vampire King of Louisiana."

"Good. I will contact my lawyer who will visit you tomorrow with your contract. I suggest you read it well. My lawyer will answer any questions you may have, and I promise you that he will not lie to you."

"Fine."

"Oh, and Sookie … I don't need to tell you that this must remain quiet. You will not tell anyone about our arrangement – particularly your boss – or tell anyone that you are telepathic."

"Sure."

"I will know if you have broken our agreement."

"Okay, I get it. Can I go home now?"

"Certainly." I led her out of the staff entrance of Fangtasia to where my corvette was parked. Pam gave me a querying look as I did so.

"You're letting her go?" she asked me in Swedish.

"Yes," I replied in the same language. "She knows not to try to escape or tell anyone of this."

"You've lost your mind," she said, shaking her head.

"You will keep an eye on her and have her followed. If she so much as thinks of betraying my trust you will arrange for her to be held until I can take her back to New Orleans."

"I'd expect nothing less." Pam nodded to me before climbing into the van and driving off.

Sookie was glaring at me when I turned back to face her. "You do get that it's rude to speak about me in a language I don't speak?"

"I can understand that. But I needed to have a private conversation with my child and it seemed a better way than locking you away."

She huffed but seemed to understand my meaning. "Your child?" she asked after a few moments and once I'd shown her into the passenger seat of my car.

"Yes. I made her vampire."

"You killed her?"

"I brought her over." I pulled out of the Fangtasia parking lot and drove back in the direction of Bon Temps.

"Was she dying?"

"No. She was the daughter of an aristocrat in Victorian England in the eighteen-forties. She was bored of her life, and if you asked her now she'd say she was born to be a vampire."

She stared at me with an open mouth. "So she's one hundred and seventy years old? Sheesh. How old are you?"

I smirked at her. "I was made vampire around the turn of the last millennium in what is now modern day Sweden."

"You're over one thousand years old? Holy fuck!" I couldn't help but be amused by her language. "Are there vampires older than you?"

"A few, although not many."

I wasn't going to give her too much information. For the rest of the drive back to her home, we remained in silence, although it wasn't an uncomfortable one. Before dropping her off at her house I reminded her on our agreement.

On the way back to Shreveport I made several calls. I trusted Pam to keep up the surveillance of both Miss Stackhouse and Compton, but I also called my lawyer to draw up the contract as well as placing a call to my maker.

"_Eric, I was not expecting your call." _

It was good to hear his voice as despite the fact that he lived only across state lines in Dallas, Texas, I had only seen my maker once in the twenty-six years he had lived there and only spoken to him a handful of times.

"I would not bother you were it not important."

"_I understand that,"_ he said kindly. _"What is it that you need?"_

"I was hoping that you would be willing to come to Louisiana. Shreveport, to be precise."

"_You wish to see me?"_ I could hear the surprise in his tone.

"There is someone I wish you to meet with. But I would rather not discuss the details over the phone."

Godric would understand what I meant by that. _"Certainly. You still have you home in Shreveport?"_

"Yes."

"_I will meet you there at midnight tomorrow night."_

Neither one of us said anymore, and we both hung up. I had gone many decades in the past without seeing Godric, but something had happened to him around a quarter of a century ago that led him to leave his position as King of Galway, Ireland, to take up the position of Sheriff of Area Nine in Texas. I had assumed it was to do with the death of his human lover, but he had been reluctant to talk of her when she was living, and certainly wasn't going to talk of her now she was dead. Still, I was looking forward to my maker's arrival and drove back to my Shreveport to prepare the house.

.

"You realise I'm meant to be working tonight? I'm faking an illness for this."

Sookie was glaring at me and had her arms crossed. "I will reimburse you." Technically, this didn't count as her working for me since she was going to be meeting Godric, but I didn't want her out of pocket, and considering the state of her family home, and not to mention the driveway, I could see she needed to money.

She narrowed her eyes. "Sam knows something is up."

"He can be dealt with." I carried on driving, ignoring her comments. In truth, the shifter could cause problems, but I was King of the state, and if he knew what was best for him he'd keep his mouth shut.

When we getting towards Shreveport I handed Sookie a silk scarf to tie over her eyes so she wouldn't see where we were going. Of course she argued with me, but listened to reason when I explained that it was for her own safety and I couldn't guarantee letting her go if she knew where I lived.

"You live here?" she asked after I'd removed her blindfold and was leading her out of the car. She looked up at the three-storey grand red brick house I'd bought thirty years previous with a surprised expression. I didn't stay there often, and in truth it was too big for my requirements, but I liked the house and it was remote enough to give me the privacy I required.

"When I'm in town. Expecting a crypt?"

"Something like that," she muttered.

I placed my hand on her lower back and pushed her in the direction of the doorway. I could smell her nervousness, and her body was rigid with fear, but I was hoping that I wouldn't have to hurt her. Once inside the formal living room, one of my human staff brought in a drink for Sookie along with what I was told was 'nibbles' while I went down to the human quarters to get my own lunch.

"I'm pleased that you signed the contract," I said, making her jump as I walked back into the room.

"You need a bell around your neck," she admonished as I sat down next to her on the sofa.

"I'll bear that in mind."

"And you didn't exactly give me much choice regarding the contract. Your lawyer told me what the alternative was, and I think I'd like to have some semblance of freedom."

"Smart girl."

She scowled at me. "That doesn't mean I have to like it."

I didn't answer her as I felt Godric's presence. I stood up to open the front door as my Maker swooped down from the sky and skilfully landed without breaking pace in front of me.

"Godric," I said with a bowed head. "It has been too long."

"Indeed it has been, my child. You said this was important."

"It is. I need you to meet someone."

"A human?" Godric had obviously picked up on Sookie's heart rate, and it was certainly giving away her fear.

"Yes. Please come with me."

I led Godric into the living room where Sookie was still seated, placing a film over my own emotions so that I wouldn't lead him at all. I'd instructed Miss Stackhouse to remain silent unless spoken to when she met my Maker, and so far she was doing as she was told.

"What is your name?" Godric asked her gently, reassurance in his voice as she politely stood up to greet him. He was probably only an inch or two taller than her, so they were pretty much level in terms of eye-line.

"Sookie Stackhouse."

"I am Godric."

"So I gather."

Where I flashed with annoyance at her sarcasm, I felt only humour from Godric. He took a couple of steps closer to her, breathing in the air before stopping suddenly when he was within touching distance and closing off our bond so that I couldn't feel him. He was whispering in a language so ancient that even I didn't recognise it.

"How is this possible?" he finally asked. He turned to me with such emotion in his eyes, something I'd never seen before.

I looked to Sookie to see a look of confusion that no doubt matched my own.

"What magic is this?" he asked the room.

Godric placed a hand on Sookie's face and for her credit, she didn't flinch back from him.

"My child," he whispered to her before leaning it and kissing her on the forehead. He then turned to me, his tone suddenly more demanding and urgent, and fitting of a vampire his age. "I assume you still have Niall's number. I need to speak with him right now."

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><p>.<p>

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**I'd love to know your thoughts.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks again for the great reviews and to everyone who is reading this. Lots of theories, and a few were even spot on! (Racecz5 – you've been reading my mind!)**

**Hope you enjoy…**

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><p><strong>Lux Æterna - Chapter 4<strong>

**.**

**Sookie**

When the vampire dropped me home, I had to admit to being hugely relieved. I may have given him attitude, but I'd been truly scared that he'd never let me go. Even so, I knew that I was being forced into the contract, but it still seemed the lesser of two evils.

Gran met me when I went back into the house, and although she was surprised to see me, having genuinely believed that I was staying with 'a friend' she also accepted my presence without question. It was something that I really didn't like about vampires, and I wished to no end that Gran shared my ability of not being susceptible to their mind control techniques. But then who knew what danger that would cause her, and I reasoned with myself that it was better that she didn't know.

The lawyer – a gentleman by the name of Mr Cataliades who didn't exactly seem human – turned up at home only minutes after Gran had left to attend her bridge club, something I didn't think was a coincidence. But to be fair, he answered all the questions I had without any seeming bias and insisted that I fully read through the contract and understood what I was being agreeing to. I still couldn't quite believe what Mr Northman was prepared to pay me, and it made me assume that maybe I wouldn't be needed that often. Or I at least hoped that would be the case.

Still, it would cause me major problems with my regular job, and even though I could afford to quit if I only worked a few hours per month for the vampire, I didn't intend to. I just had to work out what to say to Sam being that I was specifically told _not_ to tell my boss about my arrangement with Mr Northman. And I got the feeling that there was some animosity between vampires and shifters, with vampires obviously seeing themselves as top dogs.

But now, here I was in this vampire's home having been blindfolded on my way here. I had to admit to seeing the logic behind being blindfolded, and despite my instinct to argue with him, I let him do so. The house was beautiful and completely not what I expected. It was made of red brick with white columns lit up by up lighting and set within large grounds. And inside it was equally beautiful; the room I'd been taken to was tastefully decorated in masculine shades of reds, browns and gold with a comfortable dark brown leather sofa. I'd been expecting something resembling Dracula's castle, but this was gorgeous and it made me want to explore the rest of the house.

Eric had at least provided me with food and drink, which I was grateful for despite my nervousness, and evidently went for his own snack as I noticed his normally luminescent skin was slightly more pink than normal on his return. I didn't like to think what went on in other places of his house as from what I'd read on the internet, for vampires feeding and sex were very much linked.

When the other vampire arrived, however, I noticed a change in him. I heard the visitor refer to Eric as his child, and I could only assume that it meant that this was the vampire who had turned Eric. Which, of course, made him even older than the thousand plus years that Eric was. Something I found a little unreal considering I was only twenty-five years old and Gran was only in her late seventies.

This new vampire certainly had an aura about him and he seemed to exude a calm power. He was short for a man with dark hair and blue-green eyes, and looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old. He was dressed in what looked like beige slacks with a white tunic style top.

Like I had done with Eric, I felt strangely drawn to him. But it wasn't in the way that I was drawn to Eric, or at least not wholly, as I had to admit that with Eric looking like he did it was hard not to be drawn to him. But Godric seemed somehow familiar and I felt strangely at ease around him.

I didn't quite understand what was happening when he approached me. He had such a strange expression in his eyes, and it was almost one of familiarity.

"How is this possible?" he asked, turning to face Eric who seemed equally surprised by his maker's actions. "What magic is this?"

He placed a cool yet soft hand on my face.

"My child," he whispered to me before leaning in and placing his lips to my forehead. He then turned his back on me, his tone suddenly harsher and faced Eric. "I assume you still have Niall's number. I need to speak with him right now."

It hadn't been a request, and Eric dug his cell phone out of his pocket, scrolled through the numbers before handing it to Godric. He didn't thank him for it, but sped out into the corridor and disappeared up the stairs, obviously so that he could have a conversation in private.

"What's going on?" I asked Eric, who had retained his look of stoicism once more. "Who's Niall?"

"I don't know what is going on," he stated, not answering my question.

"Can I go home now?"

"No. You will stay."

I plonked myself back down onto the sofa and ate a few nibbles while Eric watched me. I suddenly wondered whether my eating was making him uncomfortable.

"Does this bother you?" I said, pointing to the bowl of olives I was picking at.

"No," he said with a sly smile. "I'm enjoying watching you putting things in your mouth." His double meaning was hard to miss. "Although I'm assuming my eating habits would be more disturbing to you."

I snorted in agreement. "I'm with you on that one. I don't think I want to watch you neck rape someone."

The vampire's eyes hardened on me. "I can assure you that in no way do I 'neck rape' anyone."

"You're saying that before the scores of fangbangers that came queuing to be bitten you didn't take blood without consent?"

He took a step closer to me, his demeanour threatening. "Miss Stackhouse, a vampire's bite can be incredibly sensual and pleasurable. At no time does the human not want me to bite them. They may not remember me afterwards, but they always enjoyed my bite." He was practically purring with his words and his gaze was intense.

I didn't want to be sexually attracted to him, but when he put his mind to it, he was without doubt the hottest man – or vampire – that I had ever met and without doubt he knew that. And I didn't even want to think of the years of experience he would have.

"You can find out if you like," he smouldered, his blue eyes darkening as he ran his eyes down my bare neck and arms. I was regretting wearing a top that was so revealing.

If Godric hadn't walked back into the room I may well have consented to him biting me, but his arrival pulled us both back into the present.

"Niall will be here momentarily," he stated to us both before turning to Eric. "I have told him that on this occasion he may come direct into your home, but it is not to be repeated." Eric nodded his head to Godric but said nothing.

I'd been expecting a car to pull up in the driveway, or even someone to scoop down from the sky as Eric had done, but no. Whoever Niall was, he appeared out of nowhere to the side of the room with a 'popping' sound marking his presence. Both vampires turned to him as he arrived, but didn't seem surprised as I was with the man appearing out of thin air.

The new arrival had silvery blond hair that was tied back at the nape of his neck, and was dressed in a well-fitting pale grey suit that made him look somewhat regal, or certainly important. He had kind blue eyes, which had a wealth of knowledge in them, and a smile on his lips as he looked at me.

"Sookie," he said, addressing me before either of the vampires. "It is wonderful to finally meet you."

I stood up to greet him, but I really didn't know who he was or was meant to be.

"Do I know you?" I asked.

"No. You were just a baby the last time I saw you."

"Something that you are going to explain, Brigant," Godric hissed in a threatening tone. My eyes snapped to him, and I noticed Eric's doing the same, but Niall didn't seem concerned.

"I told you I would explain all, and I will do. I assume both of you will keep your fangs under control?"

"If you don't start talking now, _Prince_, I won't guarantee that." From his looks, I wouldn't have thought Godric could be so threatening, and he still maintained his calm demeanour. But he made it clear he wasn't going to be messed with.

"I will explain all."

Godric didn't seem convinced, but indicated for us all to sit down. I sat back down on the sofa, with Eric next to me. Godric and Niall took the chairs either side of the sofa.

"Firstly, tell me where Niamh is."

Godric was glaring at Niall, but Eric's expression was briefly one of surprise. "I am sorry, Godric. She is dead."

Godric gritted his teeth, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I didn't know who Niamh was to him, but I was sure that I could almost feel the pain rolling off him and I noticed a look of concern in Eric's eyes as he closely watched his maker.

"Tell me that you are lying," he hissed at Niall as he reopened his eyes. Niall, to his credit, didn't seem intimidated by him.

"I am sorry. I will explain, Godric, but I need to start from the beginning. You and I both need to tell this story." Niall gave Godric a pointed look before turning to me.

"I don't understand what this has to do with me," I stated quietly, looking between the three men in the room.

"Sookie," Godric stated in a clear yet somewhat emotional voice. "This has everything to do with you."

I looked to Eric but it seemed that he knew little more than me.

"Okay … what's the big secret?"

"Eric brought you to see me because he scented my blood in you." I nodded, turning to see that Eric's eyes were blazing.

I nodded. "Yes, although I don't know how considering I have never met you before."

The vampire took an unnecessary breath. "The reason that he could sense my scent in you is because I am your father."

I stared at him waiting for the punch line, but it never came. A fleeting thought crossed my mind that maybe I should call him Darth, but I remained quiet knowing that it probably wasn't appropriate. I was stunned, however, and that had probably been the last thing I'd expected him to tell me.

"How?" I asked instead, but not quite believing what I was being told.

"That, I do not know. Vampires cannot reproduce." He gave Niall a pointed look.

"It is not impossible." All eyes were on Niall and we waited for him to continue. "Yes, you are the daughter of a vampire, but you also of my kin. You are part Fae."

"Fae? I'm the daughter of a vampire and a fairy?" I repeated. This was just getting stranger and stranger and I was waiting to wake up at any moment to find out that was some kind of fucked up dream.

"Allow me to introduce myself," Niall said, standing up and bowing to me before reseating himself. "My name is Niall Brigant. I am the Prince of the Fae and your grandfather."

I looked, somewhat flabbergasted between Niall and Godric, both who were claiming kinship of me. "Um, no offence, but I have a family. My mom and dad may have died when I was only seven, but they were still my family." I didn't like them saying that the only family I had known weren't really mine.

"No one is taking them away from you," Niall said gently. I looked over to Godric who nodded in agreement.

"This changes nothing about your past, Sookie, about the people who raised you. They will always be your family as well. But I need to know what happened." His last sentence was directed at Niall, and I didn't miss the malice in his tone.

Niall took a measured breath before he started speaking. "I am not proud of myself for disowning my daughter. But Niamh was always a rebel and in all honesty I thought she did it to get back at me." He smiled to himself before looking at Godric. "Sookie, vampires and fairies are natural enemies. I'm only able to be in this room without being drained because I have the ability to mask my scent. For a vampire, fairy blood is addictive, like heroin for humans and the scent alone is enough to drive a vampire wild.

"My daughter was the result of an affair I had with a human by the name of Allyson in the eighteenth century." I was somewhat astounded by the dates – was he saying that my natural mother was two to three hundred years old?

He continued. "Allyson was a witch, and her powers passed on to her daughter who being half-Fae had the ability to live many centuries."

"Fairies live a long time?" I asked, not quite believing what I was being told.

"I am over fifteen hundred years old," he stated as if it was a well-known fact. "Once a fairy reaches maturity at around twenty-five we age very slowly."

"Okay…"

"Anyway. My daughter met the vampire Godric, and despite my not approving of her relationship with him, she ran from me and became his lover."

"You made her life hell," Godric snapped at Niall, his fangs down for the first time.

"I didn't mean to," he answered gently. "As I said, I thought Niamh was rebelling against me. I didn't realise how deeply she loved you."

"That's probably because you disowned her. You considered your own position worth more than that of your daughter."

"You are right, Godric. I will accept the mistakes I made with Niamh." Niall turned to look at me. "My daughter was both beautiful and headstrong and shared my stubbornness, but I wasn't happy with her dating a vampire. She was a princess of the Fae, she should have married her own kind."

Godric's answer was a threatening growl, and his formerly calm demeanour was no longer in place. I looked over at Eric to see that he was carefully watching his maker, and looked like that at his indication he would happily attack Niall. It made me feel incredibly tense.

"How long were you and my mother together?" I asked Godric in an attempt to calm the mood.

He gave a sad smile. "We were together for two hundred and twenty years. As she was Fae she would live a naturally long life, but with my blood that would have been extended."

"What happened?"

Godric's eyes flashed to Niall. "I don't know. It was in the mid nineteen-eighties that she disappeared. The bond we shared was broken and as I couldn't find her, I assumed she was dead. Now I am not so sure." He was glaring at Niall now, a look of murder in his eyes.

"My daughter came to me scared." Niall started, his voice softened. "She had discovered that she was pregnant while you were in Paris. I tried to tell her that you would understand, but she believed that you would think she had cheated on you with a human man. She was a headstrong girl … you know that, Godric. She wouldn't listen to reason and she demanded that I break the bond the two of you shared."

"You shouldn't have." Godric's tone was hard to place, but the look in his eyes was one of heartbreak.

"She was my daughter. And one I had not seen for over two hundred years. I did as she requested."

No one said anything for a few minutes, obviously trapped with their own thoughts. But I had to ask the obvious question. "How? You're telling me that I'm the daughter of a vampire – aside from the obvious, how exactly did I get conceived?"

I looked to the two vampires in the room, but neither one of them seemed to have any answer. "It shouldn't be possible," Godric eventually said, his eyes on me. "But you look so much like your mother. And there is no doubt that you are of my blood. Niall?"

"It has been known before." All eyes in the room snapped to him. "I have heard if this happening once before between an ancient vampire and a fairy-witch hybrid. I have spent the years since Sookie's birth trying to find out more, but as I am sure you can imagine, it is a closely guarded secret."

"And what happened to my mother?" I asked, my eyes flicking between Godric and Niall. He'd told Godric already that she had died, but what had happened to her?

"When she came to me we obviously kept her pregnancy quiet as I have many enemies within Faery. She stayed in a remote part of my kingdom and she was well guarded. But vampires cannot enter Faery, and as you grew within her, Niamh's body was at war with both itself and its surroundings. But as stubborn as my daughter was, she didn't tell anyone of her suffering. She wanted to give you the best chance she could." Niall closed his eyes as he paused before facing Godric. "It was too late by the time I went to her. A normal Fae gestation period is twelve months so I thought we had time. But within seven months she was ready to give birth. I took her into the human realm hoping that she would be better, but it was too late." Niall turned back to me, tears in his eyes. "She died giving birth to you."

I looked over to Godric to see a blood red tear slide down his cheek. I felt the need to go and comfort him, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Eric shake his head as if to tell me not to. I didn't know how he knew what I had been thinking, but I took his advice and didn't move.

"You failed her," Godric said in a growl. "You let her run from me and your ignorance killed her."

"No one could have known that her body would react in such a way. It shouldn't have been possible for her to be pregnant in the first place – as I said, it has only been known to happen once before." Niall stood up and walked closer to the vampire who was bearing his fangs at him. "She loved you until the end, Godric. She ran because she couldn't face that you would think she had cheated on you. I wouldn't have thought I'd have said this, but you were good for her, and I can only imagine she was good for you. But she is gone, and Sookie is the result."

All eyes were suddenly on me, and I felt like the weight of the world was upon me. This was getting a little bit too much for me, and the tension in the room was palpable. Godric and Niall obviously had some issues with each other, and to be perfectly honest if what they were telling me was true then I didn't really blame either of them.

"Can I get some fresh air?" I asked no one in particular.

Eric stood up and extended a hand to me. "I will go with you."

I didn't miss the pointed look that Godric gave Eric as he led me out of the room and into the kitchen where he opened up the large glass doors to let the night air into the room. I stepped over the threshold and stood staring out into the night sky.

"You know, I've always loved the night time. I've always felt energised once the sun sets and I've generally gotten by on only a few hours' sleep of a night. Don't get me wrong, I love the sun as well, but I've had an affinity with the night."

"You have always felt different to other humans." It was a statement not a question. He already knew about my telepathy, but this was not the same.

I didn't turn to him, but instead carried on looking out into the night. "I have. And as crazy as being told that I'm the daughter of a vampire, it kind of makes sense. I've always been stronger and faster than most kids my age, and I've never had a problem seeing in the dark. I suppose my other senses are keener as well." I ran my hand through my hair. "I've been lied to my whole life."

I finally turned to him. He was devastatingly handsome, being lit only by the moonlight pouring in through the windows, his pale skin glowing almost as its own source of light. "I doubt they knew. It would have been dangerous for you if they had known what you were. Niall has more to explain to you, but I don't think that your family knew you weren't really their daughter, granddaughter and sister."

I wasn't so sure, but I would wait to hear Niall's version of events. I could hear from the living room that Niall and Godric were obviously still talking, and at times their voices were raised.

"You didn't know any of this?" I asked of him.

"No. I had not seen my maker often in the centuries before he moved to America twenty-five years ago. I knew he had a human who he had bonded with, but I never met her, as he was fiercely protective over her. I knew little more than that."

He seemed thoughtful and I had my own questions to ask. "Where does this leave us? I mean … is the contract still valid?"

Eric was about to answer when both Niall and Godric glided into the room.

"What contract, Eric?"

We both turned to Godric whose eyes were fixed on his child and a deathly glare in his eyes. He exuded calm, but I could only imagine that it was masking something more deadly.

"Miss Stackhouse is a telepath," Eric stated with equal calm. "I approached her with a business proposition for her to work for me since she resides in my state." There was a definite threat in his tone, and I had a feeling this could get ugly.

"And how did you know she was a telepath?" It was a question I wanted to know the answer of myself.

"A human told me of this," Eric said dismissively. "I did not think she would be proven accurate, but it seems she was being truthful."

"Who was she?" I asked.

"A blonde human by the name of Hadley. I do not know her surname, and I know little more of her than that she was a drug addict."

Hadley. My cousin. Or she would have been my cousin had I been the child of Michelle and Corbett Stackhouse. And the bitch sold me out to a vampire because she was high on drugs.

"You didn't glamour her?" Godric asked Eric.

He shrugged. "I tried. But she cannot be glamoured. I assumed at the time it was due to her telepathy. She can read human minds, but finds that with shifters she gets mainly emotions." I distinctly noticed that he didn't mention the brief flit into his mind.

"You will end this contract," Godric told him. "You will not force my daughter into working for you."

"The contract has an initial term of one year," Eric calmly stated. "It cannot be broken by either of us until the year is up." I'd read that in the contract and been surprised, but Mr Cataliades had told me that it was for my own good as well.

Godric narrowed his eyes. "You will show me this contract."

"Of course, but it will not change anything."

"You are forgetting yourself, child."

Godric's tone was biting, and it seemed wrong that this child-like vampire was the one with the power in the relationship. But Eric didn't back down any despite bowing his head to his maker.

"And you are forgetting you are in my state. I am King here, and I have the authority. I did not know who Miss Stackhouse was when I drew up the contract, and I have not forced her into slavery." That was true, but I was sure if he could have he would of.

The two vampires were squaring off against each other, and Niall came to stand protectively beside me in case anything kicked off between the pair of them.

"You will guard her with your life," Godric eventually told his child, and I let out the breath I'd been holding.

Eric inclined his head once more. "I would have anyway. She is your daughter, a telepath and an incredibly rare find."

I was getting a little bit annoyed at being spoken of as if I weren't in the room. "I am here, you know."

"Apologies, Sookie." Godric turned from Eric and appeared in front of me in a blur of motion. "I am over two thousand years old and I thought that nothing would surprise me. But today I have found out that I am a father. This is new to me, as it will be to you. But I would like to get to know you."

I half-shrugged, feeling a little self-conscious. "I'd like that too. All of you, I guess."

I didn't quite know what it made Eric to me, but I didn't want to think of him as a brother. Still, he was king of the state I lived in, and I realised that in terms of vampire politics that gave him some political clout.

Godric turned to his child. "I intend to resign my position as Sheriff of Area Nine in Texas with immediate effect. I will call Stan to let him know my decision. I assume I have your permission to reside here?" The biting tone in his voice was evident.

"Of course, Godric. I am pleased to have you nearby."

Eric went to lean against the wall as Niall came up to me. "I must go, child. But I will come and see you and explain further what I have not been able to tell you tonight. There is still much to be discussed, and I have some belongings of your mothers I would like you to have."

"Thank you."

He bowed to me before disappearing in much the same way he arrived with an extravagant 'popping' sound. I noticed Eric rolling his eyes, and I smiled to myself.

"Maybe I can come and see you tomorrow night?" Godric asked me.

"Sure, but I'm working until ten."

"Working?"

Eric answered Godric's question, a sly smile on his face. "Yes … your daughter works as a waitress for the _shifter_ Sam Merlotte." He leaned back against the wall and linked his fingers together behind his head, the muscles of his arms bulging as he did so.

"You work for a shifter? I don't think so. You will quit your job immediately."

"The hell I am!" I snapped back as I heard Eric chuckle to himself.

* * *

><p>.<p>

**So … is that what you were expecting? Thoughts? Comments?**

**Where does this leave Eric and Sookie? Is Godric going to be able to convince Sookie to quit her job?**

**Thanks for reading. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Lux Æterna – Chapter 5**

**.**

**Eric**

Godric gave me a reprimanding look as he looked over Sookie's shoulder at me. I knew I would probably pay for my stirring trouble between them, but this was too good an opportunity to be missed.

"Sookie, you are my daughter. I do not expect you to work. I can provide for you."

Sookie's face dropped further and she openly glared at him. I was aware of Godric's error, but he wasn't quite as _au fait_ with modern women's attitudes as I was.

"So this isn't about me working for the _shifter_, but about me working in general?"

"You do not need to."

"I want to," she snapped back at him before taking a breath to calm herself. "Look, waitressing isn't what I want to do with my life. I have a degree in English and I was only waitressing to earn enough money to be able to move away from home and find something better. But I am not going to sponge off you, Eric and my grandfather."

"Money is not an object to any of us…" he started in an attempt to nullify her.

"I'm sure it's not," she spat back. "But it's not about money to me. I _want_ to work; I _want_ to be responsible for myself. At least what Eric was offering me was paying for my skills, even if he was paying me a ridiculous wage for it."

Godric looked up at me once more, but I could tell he wasn't going to back down any. "We will talk about this another time. I do not want to argue with you when I have only just met you."

"I'm not going to change my mind," she stated before relaxing her posture. "But I agree this isn't the time or the place."

Godric placed his hands on her upper arms and gave her a kind smile. "I want this to work, Sookie. I want us to get to know each other. But you cannot tell anyone of this. It will be too dangerous for you if it is known who you are. You are unique…"

"I'm a freak," she interrupted.

"No, you're not," Godric and I both said at the same time.

"You're not," Godric reiterated after briefly meeting my gaze. "But you are a half-breed, and probably the only one on the planet. You must keep this quiet, at least until we have spoken further with Niall."

"I can't even tell my Gran? She may not be my real family, but she's the one who raised me. She'd be devastated to learn that I'm not really her granddaughter."

"All the more reason to not tell her right now," I interjected. "At least wait until you've spoken to Niall as he was the one who placed you with the family you've known."

She gave me half a smile. "Sure, I guess that seems right."

I watched Godric as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and checked his messages. My maker wasn't a fan of technology, and was certainly not keen on how easily contactable everyone was these days. I imagined that he'd be pleased to step down as sheriff as it would mean that he didn't have that kind of responsibility anymore, and would mean that he didn't have vampires contacting him constantly. It was something I knew all too well myself.

"I'm afraid I must fly," he addressed to Sookie. "There is business I must tend to tonight if I am to come back and see you tomorrow. I will meet you at your work place?"

"Sure. I'll see you then when I get off."

"Eric, I assume you will safely escort Sookie home?"

"Of course."

Godric placed a kiss on her forehead before quickly leaving the room and disappearing into the night sky. I took a few steps towards Sookie and went to sit down at the kitchen counter near where she was standing. I indicated for her to pull up a seat next to me.

"I take it you didn't expect that either," she said while staring down at her hands.

"Something like that. I didn't consider it a possibility at all. I would never have believed that a vampire could father a child, and certainly not one as old as Godric."

"I'm stunned," she commented. "I don't know what to think. It makes kind of sense on some levels, but I'm being told that I'm only one-quarter human…"

"And even that part human comes from a witch. You are truly a unique being."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I'm fed up of unique. I've _been_ unique my whole life and an outcast because of it. I'm not even at one with you guys as I'm only half vampire. And it's not as if I drink blood or anything."

"You don't know what you're missing out on," I teased.

"From the finger full you gave me the other day I think I do." She gave me a sly smile before a seriousness appeared on her features. "Earlier … when Godric talked about my mother dying when giving birth to me … I wanted to comfort him, but you shook your head as if you knew what I was thinking. Can you read my mind?"

She was observant; I had to give her that. I had certainly felt Godric's pain in that moment, but I also knew his pride and that we would rather grieve for her in private than with Niall looking on.

"No. But following the small amount of my blood you consumed I am able to feel your stronger emotions."

"You can feel my emotions?" she spat back at me, her own irritation spiking as she glared at me.

"Yes, you seem angry," I said coolly but unable to keep the smile completely off my face.

"Asshole."

I sighed unnecessarily. "At the time it was my only option to be able to trace you if you were kidnapped. It was the prudent and pragmatic thing for me to do, so I did so. You only had a small amount, and my ability to feel you will wear off within a few weeks."

"Fine, but I don't want you to do that kind of thing again."

The fact was I wouldn't have as Godric would no doubt have my head for it. "I promise I won't. Not without your permission, anyway."

"That's not going to happen."

I was hoping it would.

I stood up after looking at the clock on the kitchen wall. "Come, I had better drive you home. It is only a few hours until dawn."

She certainly didn't show any of the normal signs of tiredness, so I believed her that she did embrace the night more than most humans do.

"Sure, but do you think you can keep within the speed limits this time?"

"Not a chance," I told her, laughing as I guided her to my corvette.

She was deep in thought for the first twenty minutes or so of our drive so I didn't say anything, but after a while she began to fidget nervously in her seat and it was clear that she had a question for me.

"You can ask me anything, Sookie."

"I thought you couldn't read my mind?"

"I can't, but I can read your body language, and you're giving off an air of restlessness."

She took a deep breath. "Godric is over two thousand years old … Niall is fifteen hundred years old. Does this mean that with their blood I will age slower?"

It was a very good question, and one I did not fully know the answer to. "It is quite likely. Once they have reached maturity, the Fae live a long time and even half-breeds are known to live a long time. And obviously, unless a vampire is killed, we will live forever. It is also the case that human life would be extended if given vampire blood, so by the same token it seems likely that in being both of Fae blood and half vampire yourself you would be expected to live longer than a human."

She was silent for a few minutes as she digested the information I'd told her. "Everything's going to change for me, isn't it?" She was looking over at me so I nodded and she let out a deep sigh. "I'm going to have to watch everyone I know die around me. How do you do it?"

I thought back to my early days as a vampire. "It was different for me. When Godric changed me, I was laying close to death on the battlefield. My men had built a funeral pyre and when Godric visited me, I thought he was death himself. In many senses he was, but what he offered was so much more. With him, I left my homeland, my family believing that I died an honourable death in battle. I didn't go back for several centuries, so there was little I recognised." I turned to her briefly and took her hand. "I therefore cannot imagine what it would be like to stay young while others around you aged."

"You surely know that to some extent?"

"Maybe. I have had many human lovers but I am not one to feed humans my blood. I have never bonded with a human like Godric did with Niamh. Yes, I have seen humans and weres I have known die, but I have never had close relationships with them. I am vampire; I am all too aware of how temporary life can be, so I do not involve myself in the concerns of others."

I'd arrived back at Sookie's home in Bon Temps, and I stopped my car at the foot of her driveway so we could continue our conversation.

"I find that really sad," she commented. I could understand her point of view, but after one thousand years, it was necessary.

"I must. You must as well. But you will not be alone, Godric will support you. We all will."

"Is he always so bossy? I see where you get it from." She raised a challenging eyebrow at me.

"Sookie, we are vampires. We normally get what we want, whether by glamouring a human into doing it or by superiority. Godric has been around for over two thousand years, and he is not used to someone saying 'no' to him."

"You're a suck up then?" she had a teasing smile on her face.

"No, I'm not," I defended. "You must realise that when one vampire creates another they are responsible for them. Generally, a vampire will remain with their maker for several decades before being allowed into the wider world. It may be easier now for a young vampire that we are known to the world and our needs are recognised, but before, if a young vampire ran riot and put us at risk of exposure, then it is the Maker who was deemed responsible."

"That seems harsh."

"Maybe, but it is the vampire way."

"So Godric has absolute power over you?"

"Yes. If he willed me to do something I didn't want to do, I would have to. A vampire can chose to let their progeny go alone, but that is quite rare. It is why you refusing to do what he asks is so hard for him. Give him a little leeway. You've mentioned that you don't want to waitress forever … so use this as an opportunity to do what you want."

She gave me an appraising look before slowly climbing out of the car. By the time she got out, I was already waiting at the door for her. I was expecting her to walk off, but she looked like she had something else on her mind. I waited for her to finish her internal battle before saying anything.

"I guess I have a favour to ask."

"Okay."

"My brother … he's been accused off two murders. I know he didn't do them."

"Human affairs do not concern vampires."

She narrowed her gaze at me. "I'm sure they don't. But put it this way, I know at least one of the girls had had sex with a vampire, and it wouldn't surprise me if the other had as well. And this has happened just as a vampire moves into the neighbourhood…" She left the sentence hanging in the air and I caught her point.

"How did they die?"

"Strangled, I believe."

"Not a vampire."

"That's what I thought, but that doesn't mean that if the police see past my brother they aren't going to go pointing their fingers at your kind." She gave me a pleading look. "You have your glamouring … surely you can find out who did it. And it's Jason they're blaming. He may not be my real brother, but I love him like one and he's always looked out for me."

I was aware that she was playing me, but she did also have a point that vampires were likely to be blamed, and I didn't want this kind of thing hitting the media.

"Okay, I will."

"Although please let the human authorities deal with whoever it is."

I narrowed my eyes at her. That wasn't my ideal outcome. "No."

"Please. You're a vampire king, you deal with vampires. If this is a human, let the police deal with them."

I growled at her. "Fine. I will have someone look into it. In the meantime stay safe and in public areas. Use your skills, you have the ability to hear whether someone is trustworthy or not, use it."

"Yes, _Your Majesty_," the sarcasm in her voice was clear as daylight.

This woman was frustrating and treated me like no other vampire or female ever had done. But I had to admit that she was somewhat refreshing if not infuriating.

"I will see you tomorrow night. Stay out of trouble."

She snorted to herself before walking the short distance to her front door and let herself in. I waited until I saw an upstairs light turn on before I drove the short distance to Compton's house across the cemetery from the Stackhouse property.

As I parked the car outside his property, Compton had appeared on the porch dressed only in a dressing gown and I could hear two human heartbeats inside the house.

"Get rid of them, I have new orders for you."

His annoyance was clear, but he nodded his head and went back upstairs to get rid of the two women as I attempted to make myself comfortable in his dank, squalor living room. The house certainly needed some work doing on it, and I could see why Compton preferred the opulence of my New Orleans court.

Compton came into the room with a Royalty Blended for me, choosing not to drink considering he had obviously just fed.

"It has come to my attention that two human women have been murdered recently in this town. What do you know of this?"

He gave a look of nonchalance. "I have heard the locals speaking of this, but I do not care."

"You may not, but I do. The killer is likely to be human considering the cause of death. You are to go to the human's homes, find evidence the police have missed, and discover who this human is."

"I am not a sniffer dog. Speak to Merlotte if you want that done."

Compton was seriously pissing me off, and if it were not for the reason that it would piss him off more, I would have asked a more trustworthy vampire to do the task. But with him living in Bon Temps, he was convenient.

"You will remember your position," I warned with a deathly tone and an icy stare so he knew I was serious. "And you will do as I order you to. If not I will find you in contempt of my direct order." He knew that meant a death sentence, and also knew I was all too willing to be the one to stake him.

"Certainly, sir," he bowed his head to me. "You are taking the telepath back to New Orleans with you?"

My gaze hardened on him again. "No, but she will be under guard. And you will not mention her again to me or anyone else."

"But is that wise…"

He didn't have chance to finish his sentence as I pinned him against the wall, old plasterboard falling on the dark and dirty wooden floors around us.

"Do not question me. You will continue to stay away from her unless I say otherwise, and for the time being you will reside here in Bon Temps. You are an investigator, if you have _any _suspicions of something going on in this town you will report immediately to myself or Pam." I let him down off the wall and brushed off some of the dust off me. "Now, you still have a few hours until sunrise, I suggest you utilise them well. I will be at Merlotte's at half-nine tomorrow evening. Meet me there."

With that, I left him and drove speedily back in the direction of my Shreveport home. I'd called Pam along the way and asked her to meet me at my house. I trusted her implicitly with anything I told her, so regaled the whole story to her once I returned.

"Wow. Does that make her my aunt?" there was a teasing tone to Pam's voice and I rolled my eyes.

"No, it doesn't." As that would make me her brother, and I certainly didn't see her with brotherly affection. Not with that hot, sinful body.

"Fuck, Eric, tell me you don't have a hardon for her?"

She was sitting on the edge of my bed in her silk pale blue nightdress, her make-up having been removed and a deep conditioner in her hair. There was nothing sexual between us anymore, but occasionally the two of us would spend the night in the same bed, and since I'd pulled Pam from her own home, it only seemed right that she stay with me.

"No, I don't."

"Liar." Pam raised a manicured eyebrow in a move she must have inherited from me. "Eric, be careful. She is Godric's natural child. She's going to have a very different relationship with him than you do. Can you imagine how over-protective he is going to be of her? He didn't even let you anywhere near his bonded human, he's certainly not going to let you near his daughter in that way."

She had a point. Godric was going to be fiercely protective over her, and I imagined Niall would for that matter as well. But she was also different to any human – or female masquerading as human – that I had met, and she'd piqued my interest the second I set eyes on her. And knowing how I liked a challenge, it was going to be difficult to not want her.

I didn't respond to Pam and simply stayed within my own thoughts until the dawn took the pair of us under its spell.

.

**Sookie**

Despite the fact that I'd learned one hell of a lot of information about myself the night before, everything in the morning still seemed so normal. Gran met me with my breakfast as she always had done, and chattered to me about some latest scandal regarding the governor of the state. But from her thoughts I could hear her concern about Jason. She knew as well as I did that he was the prime suspect in both Dawn and Maudette's murders, having slept with both of the women, and even found at the scene of Dawn's murder.

I just hoped Eric held good with his promise to help find their murderer to get Jason off the hook. For some reason, it seemed more appropriate to ask Eric to help than Godric, or my dad, as I needed to start thinking of him. Although that was just weird when he looked no more than a teenager. Obviously, I knew he wasn't – he was a powerful and ancient vampire – but he looked so youthful.

But despite Godric's obvious distaste for me working for Sam, I headed to Merlotte's after a long shower to work the shift from midday until ten in the evening. At least I could do as Eric suggested and keep a look out for anyone who may have been the murderer if I chose to lower the mental shields I normally had firmly in place.

Sam was none the wiser when it came to my recent encounters with vampires, which was only a good thing considering how anti-vampire he appeared to be. Jason came into Merlotte's as normal with his friends and work colleagues Hoyt and Rene, which of course meant that since Rene was Arlene's latest victim – sorry, potential husband – she spent most of her time flirting with him and I made sure I didn't look into either of their minds.

The strange thing was that after it had been dark for an hour or so Mr Compton put in an appearance. Sam had ordered a crate of True Blood so I was at least able to serve him a drink he could consume. He didn't speak to me this time, which was somewhat of a relief, but he seemed strangely on edge, and I had noticed that he at one point he took a random walk around Merlotte's.

"Shit, Sookie. This ain't good."

Sam had grabbed my elbow while I was at the bar, but as my back was to the door I didn't know what he was talking about. He had a worried expression on his face

"Sam Merlotte," I heard Eric's smooth voice call out, and I relaxed somewhat knowing it wasn't the impending danger that Sam had suggested it was.

Sam simply glared at Eric, obviously knowing his position within the vampire world. I ignored Sam's glare and turned to face Eric. "Can I get you a table?"

"I'll be joining Mr Compton," he indicated with a smile that almost made me weak at the knees. The man / vampire looked good. He wore a dark blue button down shirt, which was left untucked over black jeans that seemed to hug him in all the right places. I failed miserably at not staring at his ass as he walked towards Bill's table.

The younger vampire stood to greet him, and I went to get them both True Bloods before leaving them to it.

"Sookie," Sam hissed at me, collaring me while coming back from the kitchen and pulling me into his office. "You need to be careful of him. He's probably the oldest and nastiest vampire in Louisiana."

Had I not spent time talking to Eric last night and known what I knew of him, I'd probably have agreed with Sam. I was certain that had he been able to glamour me, he'd have had me in some dungeon somewhere. However, things were different to that. For some reason he'd just bound me in a contract rather than chains, and now I knew he'd probably use every force necessary to keep me safe for the sake of his maker.

"Don't worry about me, Sam. I'm good."

He gave me an astounded look. "Sook, they are vampires. And dangerous ones at that. Don't be so naïve."

"Sam Merlotte don't you patronise me. I am able to look after myself."

"Not when it comes to vampires, Sook. And trust me, Northman is not one to be fucked with." Sam was giving me a pleading look and I knew that he was only trying to be my friend. And it wasn't as if I could tell him what was going on.

"Quite right."

I turned to see Eric leaning casually in the doorway of Sam's office.

"Northman, get out of my office."

In a blur Eric had moved from the doorway and was pinning Sam to the wall in a display of much greater strength.

"You will watch your mouth, Shifter. But since Sookie works for you, I will tell you this. She is under my protection, and you will not lay a stinking paw on her. If I find out that you do, you will lose it." Eric stepped back and dropped Sam to the floor, who was grasping at his throat while glaring at Eric. "Sookie," he said with a smile and a nod before leaving Sam's office.

"Are you okay?" I asked him with genuine concern. I was going to have words with Eric about his display of theatrics.

"I'm fine. But Sookie, what the fuck are you doing? He knows of your telepathy, doesn't he?" I didn't answer him, but I didn't need to. My silence was condemning enough. "Christ. You need to get away from here. Leave the state, go into hiding. You can't have vampires know what you can do. You'll be forced into slavery."

I sighed deeply. "Sam, I know what I'm doing, and Eric isn't going to hurt me. I can't explain more than that, but just trust me, okay."

I silently pleaded with him to believe me.

"Are you sure you can't be glamoured?"

"Very sure. Doesn't work on me. Please believe me, Sam. I can look after myself."

Sam shook his head. "I don't believe you, but I won't pursue this right now. However, if you come to any harm I will stake him."

"Sure thing, Sam."

I wasn't sure that Sam would ever be able to pull off such a feat, but I appreciated his concern. However, a commotion in the bar with the sounds of Arlene screaming caused both Sam and I to run at full kilter out of his office and into the bar.

I was shocked to see the sight of Rene Lenier pinned against the wall by Bill Compton, while Eric was standing by, his fangs down and focused solely on Rene. The rest of the patrons of Merlotte's were crowded around and Andy Bellefleur had his gun drawn and pointing at Bill Compton.

"What the hell is going on?" Sam asked the crowd as we approached. Neither vampire moved, but I could see that Rene was starting to struggle for breath as Bill throttled him.

"This is your murderer," Eric spat.

"No he's not," Arlene protested.

I stared at Rene as he glared angrily at the two vampires in the room. And strangely, despite his usual Cajun accent, his mind-voice was in a low growl in an accent that didn't suit the voice that came out of his mouth. He was also cursing both of the vampires in the room with a hatred I had never heard him vocalise.

"Rene?" I asked. "Did you kill Maudette and Dawn?"

I saw in his mind replays of him murdering both girls, and also a girl I had never seen before. A girl who Rene knew very well. His sister.

"Fuck you!"

"You murdered your sister?" I asked him, outraged.

He started glaring at me and made an attempt to escape Bill's grip, but the vampire held firm. "You whore! You're sleeping with vampires as well? You deserve to die!"

It was as close to a confession as you could get, and Andy moved his gun from pointing at Bill, to pointing at Rene.

"Did you kill those girls?" he asked.

"Fuck you. They deserved it."

Rene had just about admitted to Dawn and Maudette's murders. "Bill, let Rene go. Let Andy deal with this."

Bill ignored me, but looked to Eric. Eric looked at me briefly, before agreeing with my suggestion. "Let the human authorities deal with him."

Bill gave a brief surprised expression, before releasing Rene and letting him fall to the floor. Andy took his opportunity, grabbed Rene and cuffed him.

"You're under the arrest for the murder of Maudette Pickens and Dawn Green." It seemed that Andy completely ignored the vampires who had really caught the killer and taken all the glory himself as he led Rene to the back of his police cruiser.

Everyone in Merlotte's was in complete shock as they watched Andy leave with Rene, none more so than Arlene who was still trying to protest her fiancé's innocence.

I caught Eric's eye and indicated for him to join me outside. He did so after ordering Bill to stay inside the bar.

"Thank you. Although I suspect that Mr Compton did the work." I raised an eyebrow in challenge to Eric.

"He did so under my order. This human was a threat to you, and therefore must be disposed of."

"Thank you … I guess."

We were interrupted by Godric dropping gracefully from the sky next to us, and I had to admit that I hadn't realised my shift was over.

"What is going on here?"

Eric explained what had happened, to a Godric who didn't seem remotely impressed at the apparent danger I was under. When they started snapping at each other in a language I didn't recognise, I stepped between them.

"Stop. The pair of you." I turned to Godric. "I asked Eric to investigate as a few humans had been murdered and my brother was implicated. I was never in any danger, and Eric quickly found the perpetrator."

I looked up to Eric, grateful that he had helped get Eric off.

"I did it for you, Sookie."

There was an intensity to his gaze, and he managed to pin me to the spot where I stood.

"Come, Sookie," Godric ordered in an inpatient tone, his eyes on Eric. "We will head back to your farmhouse. Eric, I will deal with you later."

I had the distinct impression that Godric was pissed off with Eric for something, but I couldn't work out what he had done wrong. But seeing the mood Godric was in, I went back inside to grab my bag and wave a goodbye to Sam. By the time I got back outside, Godric was alone and I drove him back to my home in silence as he brooded.

As soon as I stopped the car, Godric was at my car door and helping me out. He was looking at me with a serious expression on his face.

"I have ordered my child to stay away from you."

* * *

><p>.<p>

**So … Rene has been caught – I always thought in the books that surely Bill could have done more to investigate.**

**Anyway … seems that Godric is standing in between Sookie and Eric. **

**Thoughts, comments?**

**Thanks for reading.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks to everyone for reading, alerting, favouriting and reviewing.**

**Lux Æterna – Chapter 6**

* * *

><p>"You what?"<p>

I stared at Godric my mouth open as I waited for him to continue. It'd been obvious that he and Eric had had some kind of disagreement, but this was ridiculous.

"I have asked Eric to stay away from you," he said more gently this time.

"Why? I was just starting to get along with him! You don't get to order him around like that. Or me."

"I do, Sookie, because I am his maker. And I am doing it for your own safety."

"My own safety?" I snapped at him. "Eric was the one who introduced you to me. You should be grateful. And he had more than enough chances to lock me up before you came along. I don't believe that Eric would hurt me."

I meant it as well. For some reason I had trusted him right from the start and even though he'd essentially kidnapped me the first time we met. He'd let me go, and that said something for him.

"Can we go inside?" Godric asked, changing the subject.

I huffed at him childishly. "Fine. But my Gran will be up."

I led Godric inside the house, inviting him inside as soon as I had passed over the threshold myself. I could hear Gran in the kitchen, and I led Godric through.

"Sookie, dear, have you brought a friend?" Despite not knowing who he was, Gran gave Godric a huge welcoming smile. "I'm Adele Stackhouse, Sookie's grandmother. Won't you take a seat. Can I get you something to eat?"

I was a little taken aback that Godric would take her up on her offer, but he simply smiled at her. "I am fine, thank you, I have already eaten." He then caught her in his gaze, and I noticed immediately how's Gran's mind went blank while Godric had her under his spell. "Adele, you will go to bed, go to sleep and not remember me being here tonight."

Godric released Gran a second later, and she gave me a warm smile while yawning. "I'm going to go to bed, dear. See you in the morning."

She came over and gave me a kiss on the forehead, completely ignoring Godric and then started her usual bedtime routine.

"I could tell the power you had over her," I said to Godric once Gran was inside her room. "It was strange; she was completely under your spell and her mind was blank of all other thoughts."

Godric looked thoughtful. "It's useful that you are able to tell when a human has been glamoured. That will protect you from other humans who are under a vampire's thrall."

I acknowledged his comment while making a cup of coffee for myself. "I'm sorry, Godric, I don't have anything to offer you." I was hoping that he didn't want to snack on me, anyway.

"That is quite fine, Sookie. At my age, I do not need much blood. I only normally feed once a week. Neither you or your Gran have any concerns about my feeding habits." There was a slight smile on his lips as he said so, and I felt better about assuming he would want to feed on Gran or me.

I led him into the living room and curled up on the sofa, pulling an old afghan rug over me to keep the night chill off. "So, want to tell me why Eric has been ordered away?"

Godric took a deep and unnecessary breath. "For a start, Eric is king of this state and his role is based in New Orleans. He only came up here because of you being a telepath, and had this not happened he would have returned to New Orleans either with you or leaving you here but under protection. He cannot run his state from Shreveport and if he is not seen to be doing his job then other vampires may attempt to stake a takeover."

I could see the logic behind that and I hadn't thought that Eric's job was in New Orleans rather than in the North of the state.

"Fine, I can see your point, but surely it's not your place to order him around when it comes to his job."

Godric cocked his head to the side. "True. But it is my place to tell him to stay away from you for other reasons."

"What other reasons?" I asked, the tone of my voice giving away my annoyance at him.

"Sookie, Eric is … he is not one for relationships with human. Most vampires aren't. What I had with your mother was unusual to say the least. But Eric in particular is not the type to settle down. You'd be lucky to find him with the same human twice, let alone form a relationship with them."

"Why is this relevant?"

"Because I have felt his attraction to you, and I will not let him use you or hurt you. You would not do well in forming any kind of relationship with him, and Eric is not capable of just friendship with a human female."

"That's ridiculous."

Godric gave me a sad smile. "I have known Eric for over one thousand years. And in that time, he has taken many lovers of both sexes and many species. I know from first-hand experience that he is a very skilled lover."

"What?" I coughed out. The thought of Godric and Eric together in that way spun my mind.

Godric chuckled. "Sookie, vampires view sexuality in a very different way to humans. It is probably the norm that when one vampire makes another, there is normally a sexual relationship. Mine with Eric lasted several centuries, albeit not exclusively."

I still couldn't quite get my head around that, and the logistics of it kept on playing over in my mind considering the height difference between them.

"I love Eric. He is all of my son, brother, father and lover. But you – you are breakable and fragile. You are my flesh and blood, and I will do all that I can to protect you and keep you safe. And if that means that I have to keep you safe from him as well, then so be it."

I could see that Godric was trying to end our conversation about Eric, but I wasn't done. "What do you think you're protecting me from? I'm a big girl, _dad_, I can look after myself."

His features hardened a little. "I know, Sookie. But you have been thrust headfirst into a hazardous world. It would be dangerous enough with you just being a telepath, something highly sought after by vampires. But in being half vampire, and part-Fae to boot, if it is discovered what you are there will be many factions out to kill you or worse."

I couldn't quite think what was worse than being killed, but I decided not to ask, as I wasn't sure I'd like the answer.

"I like Eric," I said, trying a different tactic. "I guess we've become friends."

"Eric doesn't be _friends_ with people, especially attractive females." His tone was one of authority. "As I said, I have felt what he feels for you, and it is not friendship. He would not mean to, but he would only hurt you. He is better just being the king of this state and leaving this to me." He had an impatient tone to his voice. "I'm not going to hear any more of this. Eric is going tonight back to New Orleans, and I have asked him not to contact you again unless I allow it."

I narrowed my eyes at him, but was interrupted by a knock to the door.

"That'll be Niall," Godric announced, his tone suddenly brighter. "I asked him to meet us here."

I got up to let my fairy-grandfather into my home, and hoped that things would go better with him than my recent conversation with Godric. However, I got the distinct impression that given the chance he'd be just as domineering as Godric was, and I was getting more than a little tired of being pushed around by long lost relatives.

"Sookie, my child," he greeted as I led him into my home. He gave a cordial nod to Godric but kept his distance from the vampire. "Eric has gone?"

"Yes, I have sent him back to New Orleans."

"Good," Niall said as I glared between the two of them.

"You as well?" I stood in the hallway, my hands on my hips as I narrowed my eyes.

Niall looked briefly to Godric before responding to me. "It is best that you stay away from a vampire such as Eric. He is a known lothario and not suitable for you to be seen with."

"You have got to be kidding me?" I shouted at them, and then froze in case Gran had heard me, but I heard no signs of movement from her room.

Godric took a step forward to appease me. "I know that you and him may have started some kind of relationship, but you need to trust us. This is for your own good, and I am certain that Eric would agree that he is not a suitable partner for you. I have not compelled him to stay away from you as I could, but the only reason for that is your contract with him and that I may call on him in respect of your safety. But he will not be in good favour with me if he goes against my request."

Godric was essentially giving a thinly veiled threat. And it wasn't just against me, but Eric as well. And although I hadn't truly observed Eric and Godric together, it was clear that despite Eric's height and build advantage, he was only half Godric's age and therefore no match for his maker.

Not that it meant that I was going to make it easy for him.

"You may be my father and grandfather," I looked at each one of them in turn. "But I don't like being told who I can and cannot see." There were about to protest, but I held my hand up to them. "I understand that Eric has work to do and would have had to of go back to New Orleans anyway, but I don't appreciate him being pushed around on regard of me."

I huffed to myself and went to sit down in the living room. Both men followed me, but neither looked remotely sorry.

"You are so much like your mother," Niall commented as he came up to me.

I ignored his comment, knowing that he was obviously commenting on my own stubbornness. "Tell me more about what happened to me," I addressed to Niall as he sat down opposite me. Godric took up a place next to me on the old sofa. "Why did you place me here?"

Niall closed his eyes briefly before opening them once more. There was a distinct sadness in them and it almost looked like there was the start of a tear forming. "I buried Niamh in the human realm near to a Fae portal." He looked to Godric, whose eyes were fixed on my grandfather. "I will take you to her when we leave."

Godric simply nodded his gratitude.

"I was unsure whether you would be able to enter Faery again, and I didn't want to take that risk. Instead, I brought you to Louisiana and altered the memories of the family I placed you with into believing that you were their biological daughter. I needed to know that you were safe and I couldn't stand the thought of a stranger raising you."

I didn't understand. "But surely they were strangers."

"Not completely."

"Meaning?" I asked after a few moments, as Niall hadn't continued.

He sighed. "The woman you know as your Grandmother … just over fifty-five years ago Adele Stackhouse had an affair with a half-fairy that gave birth to two children. First the man you knew as your father, and then a daughter, who you would know as your Aunt Linda."

I was astounded. My Gran had an affair? I didn't remember my grandfather Earl Stackhouse that well as he had died a few years before my parents, but I knew that Gran had loved him deeply so I was astounded to learn that she'd had an affair. And with a fairy.

Niall went on. "That half-fairy was my son Fintan. He has since died as well, having been killed in battle. But I have kept watch over both you and your family."

"Did Fintan know the truth of who I was?"

"He did. And as your uncle he cared for you deeply as well."

It was certainly a lot to take in, but over the next hour or so, I talked with Niall and Godric getting to know them both and learning of my mother. They both answered the questions I had openly, and I started to develop a deep affection for them. However, I was still pissed off about the whole Eric thing, and it wasn't just that. Neither man was happy with my working for Sam as a waitress or the idea that I was going to be employed as a telepath.

But I told them both in no uncertain terms, that I was not going to quit either job. And reluctantly they acquiesced.

.

I didn't really know what to expect, but nothing much changed. I quite regularly saw both Godric and Niall, and both men seemed to be trying to outdo each other in terms of gifts that I really wasn't pleased about accepting, but neither one of them would take back. The only reason I allowed it at all was because they were my family and not some suitor out to try and impress me with expensive gifts.

I therefore went to work, although I did cut back on my shifts. It was something that Gran had insisted on me doing as apparently she'd won some competition she entered and won one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Not that I believed that at all, but neither Niall or Godric seemed willing to own up to it. Either way, Gran was infinitely happy and she spent a good chunk of the money on doing up the old farmhouse as well as giving some to both Jason and me.

It did make things easier at home, and she also encouraged me to look around for alternative jobs and consider moving to Shreveport. But I couldn't face leaving her. She may not have been my biological grandmother, but she'd always been there for me and I wasn't happy leaving her at a time when her health was starting to fade.

I'd also not heard a peep from Eric in the few weeks since I'd last seen him, and I'd also not been given any 'telepathy' assignments. However that all changed the night a blonde female vampire arrived on my doorstep.

"And you are?" I asked of her as I took her in. She was probably about my height, slim and wearing a pink designer two-piece suit that made her look like she belonged more on Wisteria Lane than in Bon Temps. Aside from the fact that she was clearly a vampire.

"Pam. Pam Ravenscroft. It's interesting to finally meet you."

"Do I know you?" I'd never seen this vampire before.

She thrust a cell phone at me, and almost immediately, it started ringing. "Well answer it," she drawled in a bored voice.

"Hello?"

"_Sookie,"_ a familiar voice purred down the line.

"Hey, Eric," I greeted, a smile plastered on my face.

"_My child, Pam, has come to you as we need your assistance as per our contract."_ So this wasn't just a social call.

"Sure," I said a little disappointed. "I'll do whatever you need me to do."

"_Pam will explain to in the car. She will drive you to Fangtasia and bring you back later on. Stay by her, Sookie, I do not like the thought of something happening to you."_

"Because Godric would kick your ass?" I asked of him sarcastically and being totally unable to hold my tongue.

"_No …"_ there was a pause before he spoke again. _"Sookie, I have no option but to follow what Godric wishes of me. And my place is in New Orleans; I have a state to run."_

"Sure, I understand that."

There was another pause before Eric spoke again_. "Good. Stay safe and pass the phone back to Pam."_

"Bye Eric," I whispered into the phone before handing it back to Pam and without bothering to wait for a reply. Pam stepped a few paces away from me into the night and spoke to her maker in a language I couldn't place.

I didn't know why it bothered me so much that I hadn't been able to see or speak to Eric. It wasn't as if anything at all had happened between the pair of us, and the first time I'd seen him he'd kidnapped me. But I felt that we'd somehow managed to form some kind of friendship, and he'd certainly helped me with the whole Rene Lenier situation.

While Pam was talking, I went inside to get changed into a pair of comfortable jeans, white tennis shoes and a long-sleeve wrap-around top in my favourite shade of green. After yelling a goodbye to Gran, I grabbed my own phone and shoved a few notes into my pocket in case I needed to buy a drink. I left the house after picking up my keys and went to where Pam was waiting for me.

She was driving a black Escalade and closed the door after me before driving off into the night.

"You are attracted to him," she said out of nowhere and without looking at me.

"Who wouldn't be?" I asked trying to nullify by response.

"Many woman are drawn to him, yes. But it is more for you." It was a statement not a question, and she was quite right.

"It doesn't matter," I said dismissively. "Godric has made it clear that he doesn't want me anywhere near Eric. And it's not as if I know him or anything."

"Godric is only looking out for you, even Eric can understand that. But he cannot go against his maker."

I narrowed my eyes. "Godric told me that he hadn't compelled Eric not to see me."

"That is true, but if Eric goes against his maker's wishes Godric would well be within his rights to punish Eric."

"That's barbaric!"

"We are vampires, Sookie. Our world is different to yours."

"You're forgetting that I am half-vampire."

"You have grown up in a human world, and you display little of your vampirism."

She was right there. "What is it that you need me to do?" I asked in an effort to change the subject.

"I co-own Fangtasia with the vampire Longshadow – who I understand you have already met – and it has come to my attention that sixty thousand dollars is missing. I wish for you to interview the human staff and find out which one took it."

"You're assuming a human took it?"

"Longshadow knows better than to cross me."

We didn't speak any further for the rest of the trip, but I had to admit to being a little anxious about seeing Longshadow again, as I'd not been a fan of him the last time we'd met. When we reached the bar, Pam again led me in through the back door of the club, sending a skinny, scantily dressed human waitress to go and get me a gin and tonic and a bottle of True Blood for her.

The first human to come into the office was the accountant who'd discovered the missing money, but I could tell instantly that he wasn't the one who'd taken it and was hugely scared that he was going to end up dead as a result of this. In fact, he'd sworn to himself that he'd never deal with vampires again and I had to agree with him that it was a good idea. I shook my head to Pam, who frowned but let the relieved man go.

The next was the skinny blonde waitress who'd got my drink earlier. She was called Ginger and had a brain that quite simply resembled Swiss cheese. It was obvious to me that she'd been glamoured many times, and I wondered how much of her was still inside as all that brain mushing can't have been good to her.

But her brain was odd. When I asked her a direct question, I got the feeling that she did know something, as she kept on going to the same point within her mind but there was something making her not remember the key fact. Whatever it was had obviously been glamoured out of her, and I was suddenly more than wary of the other vampire in the room as I was sure that Pam wouldn't have been the one to take the money.

Still, I shook my head no to Pam. She stalled for a brief moment as if she knew something was not quite right before sending Ginger out and bringing another waitress – Belinda – in to take her place on the wooden chair in the centre of the office.

This time I knew something was up, and I was aware that the large male vampire had shifted on his feet behind me. I asked Belinda the same questions I'd asked both the accountant and Ginger, but in the instant that her eyes flicked to Longshadow, he lunged forward, managing to bite me hard on the arm as he ripped at the throat of Belinda with his bare hands.

I couldn't stop myself from screaming as Longshadow came at me once more, but in a flash of movement Pam had plunged a stake into his back and he exploded over me, some of his blood even slipping down my throat as I screamed.

At that moment, the door also flew open with a loud crash as Eric strode into the room and surveyed the carnage with rage in his eyes. Pam stood up and tried to wipe the blood off her two-piece, while Eric came over, picked me up and placed me on the leather sofa. He wasn't at all bothered by the fact I was covered in vampire goo and went to survey the bite on my arm, which was stinging like hell.

"Does it hurt?"

"Of course it hurts," I snapped back before I could stop myself.

He took a deep, shuddering breath before turning to Pam. "Go and get changed and make sure this is cleaned up. I will deal with Sookie and notify Longshadow's maker of his treachery and staking."

"Of course, Eric," she said with a bow of her head before heading out of the room, obviously not happy about being covered in blood, something I couldn't help but find amusing.

Eric raised an eyebrow. "You find this humorous?"

I snorted quietly. "No. Well except for the fact that Pam doesn't seem to like blood."

He smiled. "She's never liked getting dirty. She even complains about going out in the rain. I am afraid that I have over-indulged her and she is a spoiled brat at times."

I heard a curse from somewhere outside the room and Eric chuckled to himself.

"I didn't think you were meant to be here."

He shrugged. "I am not. But I was nearby and wanted to be around in case this got messy, which evidently it has. I will not leave you so unprotected in future." That almost sounded like an apology, and I got the feeling it was the most I was going to get out of him.

"Thanks," I said nonetheless. "I'm guessing that you and Pam had no idea that Longshadow was your culprit, and you couldn't have known that he would come after me."

He shrugged. "Vampires are more than known to backstab each other, particularly when money is involved. But I assumed Longshadow had the sense not to fuck with Pam or me."

His arrogance was clear, but I got the feeling that his statement was normally true.

"Would you like me to heal you?" he asked, catching me off guard.

I looked into his eyes to see they were clear blue, but there was an intensity there that I had not seen in them before.

"Vampire blood is healing," he explained when I hadn't answered, "in the same way that your mother would have been kept alive longer by Godric's blood and that vampires are able to regenerate themselves."

"What would it mean?" I asked, remembering that Eric was able to feel my emotions following the finger-full of his blood I'd had before.

"It would strengthen the bond between us, although not truly form one considering I have not fed from you. As before, I'd be able to feel you as well as track your location." He paused for effect. "And you'd be more attracted to me." There was a distinct smirk on his face.

"More attracted?" I asked, taking his bate but being unable to remain serious.

"Yes, Sookie," he purred. "I can tell that you find me devilishly handsome, but then you are only female."

"You're an arrogant shit," I told him, but keeping my voice light.

"It's not arrogance if it's true. I am simply stating fact."

I would happily have continued flirting with him, but the pain in my arm was starting to bother me. Eric's eyes flicked to my arm and the blood covering me. I could see that he was struggling to maintain his composure.

"Let me heal you. You will be scarred by Longshadow's bite otherwise and I would not like to see your perfect skin marred."

I could almost feel the intensity rolling off him. "Sure."

He gave me a fangy smile before biting into his wrist and bringing it to my mouth. "You will only need a little."

A few drops of his blood fell into my mouth before I willingly latched onto his wound and sucked as hard as I could. The taste was like nothing I had tried before. It wasn't tangy and metallic like my own blood, but rich, smooth and sweet like a fine red wine or port. I'd have happily drank more, but Eric wrenched his wrist away from me.

His eyes really were blazing this time, and I could almost feel the lust rolling off him as his eyes ran over my body and focused on my neck, his fangs fully extended and gleaming in the light of the room.

"Eric …" I whispered, reaching out to him before I could stop myself.

"No," he said with a noise that sounded like a growl. "I cannot." He got up slowly and steadily, and walked over to Pam's desk where he sat down behind it.

"Why not?" I asked, sitting up on the sofa and staring across at him.

"Sookie, the smell of your blood is already permeating this room, and I cannot allow myself to taste you. You are one-quarter Fae, which means that your blood will be highly addictive to vampires. I do not wish you to be hurt."

It really looked like he was struggling, and I was impressed that he was able to have sat by me when he obviously wanted my blood.

"You enjoyed me drinking from you?" I tentatively asked.

He breathed in deeply. "Very much so. Although I seem to remember you saying that you weren't interested in drinking blood." He raised an eyebrow.

I shrugged. "Maybe I'm more vampire than I thought. Your blood tasted delicious."

"I am not used to feeding humans my blood, so I cannot know whether that is a normal reaction."

"This isn't a normal thing for you?"

He shook his head. "No. The last human I gave blood to would have been Pam."

I stared over at him. He was wearing his trademark black, and on this occasion had on a unzipped black leather jacket over the top of a well-fitting black t-shirt, dark blue jeans and black shit kickers.

Suddenly, Eric stood up, his manner suddenly alarmed. He didn't get the chance to say anything before the door burst open once more and Godric strode into the room, a foul look on his face as he looked between Eric and me.

"Nothing happened," I blurted out, as I was scared that Godric would do something.

"I find that hard to believe," he said, his tone calm but deadly. "I can smell both yours and my child's blood in the room." He took three paces closer to me. "Stand up."

I did as he asked, and Godric leaned in and ran his nose down my neck. In the next instant, he had pinned Eric to the wall, his hand tightly around his neck. I ran to them, not knowing what I would do, but not being able to let Godric hurt Eric for something that was not his fault.

"Sookie, stay back," Eric barked out, although his voice was altered considering the chokehold Godric had him in.

"Godric, please let him go," I cried placing a hand on his back and feeling the tense muscle underneath. "I was bitten by Longshadow after I read a human's mind, and Eric healed me. It was nothing more than that."

Godric released his grip on Eric, but not by much. "Child, order Pam to take Sookie home. I will deal with her later. You and I are going to have a talk."

In the next second, Pam walked into the room and Eric repeated Godric's order to her.

"Come on, Sookie," she said gently to me as she pulled at my arm. I was more than aware that I was still covered in vampire goo, but Pam made it clear that there was no time for a shower. Instead, she led me to the employee's bathroom and told me to change out of my own, soiled clothes and put on a large button-down shirt that I imagined was Eric's.

Once I was changed, I slipped my shoes back on and Pam led me to her Escalade where she'd found the time to line the passenger seat with plastic so I wouldn't get it dirty. And I couldn't help but notice that she had showered, changed and was back to looking pristine again.

"Is he going to be okay?" I asked her after at least twenty minutes on the road.

"I do not know, Sookie. I do not know."

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><p>.<p>

**So there – Eric's in trouble now. How pissed off is Godric that Eric has given her his blood twice now, and broken his rule about staying away from her? Is Sookie in trouble? Is Godric being over protective?**

**I'd love to know your thoughts.**

**And sorry for the lack of updates. I've been somewhat addicted to J. R. Ward's **_**The Black Dagger Brotherhood **_**at the moment. Damn addictive Kindle.**

**Bye for now, next update likely next weekend.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks again for reading, reviewing, alerting and favouriting.**

* * *

><p><strong>Lux Æterna – Chapter 7<strong>

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><p><strong>Eric<strong>

As soon as Sookie had left the office, Godric forced me down onto my knees in front of him and let go of my throat. I didn't want to submit to him, but feeling the anger coming off him I knew I had better or he would force me to.

"You fed her your blood?" he seethed, his brown eyes narrow and lacking their normal warmth.

"She was injured."

"You knew it would begin to form a bond. Has she had your blood before?"

"Yes, although only a small amount. It may not have been enough to have been significant." Godric growled, although I wasn't sure if it was at me or to himself. "I wanted to help her."

"She shouldn't have been in that position in the first place."

"We have a contract."

"A dangerous one," he growled.

"She is a telepath. I didn't know she was your daughter when I propositioned her, and any king would have done the same. In fact, most would have kidnapped her and taken her back to their compounds. If she had been found by _any_ other vampire, she would not be getting this special treatment."

I was getting pissed off back, and bared my fangs at my maker, but he was too strong and despite my size advantage I was not going to be to get up from my knees without his say so.

"I do not call letting her get mauled by another vampire _special treatment_."

"Well if I had been in the room at the time, it wouldn't have been an issue!" I tried to get up off the floor, but Godric forcibly pushed me back into the kneeling position.

"Your _child_ should have managed it."

"Do not bring her into this."

I could see that Godric was seethingly angry, something I had never seen in him before. "You are not in a position to make demands."

To make his point, Godric quickly moved his face to my neck and bit me hard in a display of strength and dominance over me. It wasn't the gentle bite I was used to from my maker, but he savagely tore into my neck, causing me to yell out in pain.

Once Godric let go and resumed his position, I didn't meet his eyes. It was taking all of my control to not retaliate, and I could not remember a time when Godric had ever put me in that position, even when I was a new vampire. Biting was a weapon that vampires used over each other to display supremacy and possession, but Godric had never been that sort of maker.

"Eric –" he said, his tone suddenly softer. He placed a hand on the side of my face.

"I will do as you ask," I said, standing up to move away from him and still not meeting his eyes. If he wanted that, he was going to have to command me to do so. "However, with your permission I will go and see her to make sure that she is okay before I return to New Orleans."

"Eric –"

I finally met his stare. "Do I have your permission, Master?" I never normally called him master as we didn't have that kind of relationship, but I was angry with him and making my point.

"Yes, you do." He bowed his head slightly in a display of passivity that was unlike him. "But Eric …"

I cut him off before he finished that sentence. "I will speak to you later, Master."

I left the room and headed into the parking lot of Fangtasia before shooting up into the sky. I'd obviously beaten Sookie and Pam back to her farmhouse, so I waited in the shadows for Pam's car to appear. When Sookie climbed out I couldn't help but notice that she was wearing nothing but one of my shirts, and I felt myself harden at the image. She may be Godric's daughter, but she was sinful in many ways and in the getup, she looked devastatingly delicious.

"Eric!" she said, surprised to see me. "All okay?"

She seemed genuinely concerned, and I shot a look at Pam. She understood that I wished her to leave, and nodded her head as she climbed into the SUV and drove off, but not before Sookie thanked her for bringing her back. She truly was a gracious being.

"Can we talk inside?"

She nodded and led me into the house, inviting me in as soon as she passed over the threshold into her home. She settled into a large chair in the comfortable living room, he legs tucking under herself, as I sat on one edge of an old sofa.

"What happened?" her deep blue eyes were on me.

"It seems my maker is not happy with me. I will not be able to see you further, but I will make sure that for all future work you do for me that you are suitably protected. I apologise that you have been injured." Saying sorry wasn't something I was used to doing, but in this case, it seemed appropriate.

"It's not your fault," she came back with straight away. "And anyway, what if I want to see you?"

I raised an eyebrow, surprised that she would want to. "Your father has said it will not happen, so that is how it will be. I cannot go against him, Sookie. He is my maker, and although I am not happy with his decision, I do respect him." It was still the case, despite what had transpired in Pam's office, but I wasn't going to let Sookie know anything about that.

There was a moment of silence between us, and I could see that Sookie had something on her mind. "Can I ask you something … personal?"

"Sure. Although I may not answer it."

"I don't blame you if you don't." She paused for a moment, not meeting my eye as she spoke again. "Godric mentioned that you and him used to be lovers …," she didn't continue to question, but she didn't have to.

I took a deep breath. "I am surprised he told you that."

"So am I!" she exclaimed, finally meeting my eye. "Is it true then?"

"Yes, but that is nothing unusual for vampires."

"That's what he said."

"Vampires are very sexual beings. For us, blood and sex and closely linked and there is rarely one without the other."

"And when you fed me your blood earlier on…" she left the sentence hanging in the air.

"I will not tell you exactly what was on my mind." But I was getting hard thinking about it. I had been very tempted by her at that point, and it had taken all my will power to not rip the clothes off her and have my way with her. Which made me think that maybe Godric was right. "Do you dislike that Godric and I have had sexual relations?" I figured bringing the original question back was safer than discussing what I wanted to do to her.

She shrugged and looked down at her hands. "I guess I do. It's just strange for me to accept. I suppose I shouldn't be bothered by it, but it's just different to how I had imagined, and thinking of you and him together…"

"It has been many centuries since that happened," I reassured her. "Godric and I no longer have that kind of relationship, and from what I understand, he has not been with other males."

She shook her head. "Have you?"

This conversation was heading into dangerous territory again. "Yes, although I greatly prefer the female form."

"And you have been with many women?"

That was probably an understatement. "I have."

"Godric … he mentioned that part of the reason he wanted you to stay away from me was that he felt … well, that he felt your attraction to me." I raised an eyebrow while she blushed. "Is that true?"

"I am a male vampire and you are a beautiful woman. Of course I am attracted to you. But I will not act on my impulse."

"Why?" Sookie's voice was strained. "Because of Godric?"

"Partly. But you are also an innocent."

Sookie's face flushed and she buried her face in her hands. "You can tell I'm a virgin?" she asked while still keeping her face hidden.

I smiled. "It makes your scent more delicious. I would not want to hurt you."

"Why would you?" she lifted her head.

We were definitely in dangerous territory, but I was unable to stop myself. "Sookie, you are so small and unbroken, and I … well ... I am large." I couldn't hold back the smirk.

"Yeah, you're tall and …" she suddenly realised what I meant and flushed red again. I was unable to keep a smile off my lips and my fangs ran down. "Okay."

I took a deep breath and was certain that there was the slight tang in the air of her arousal. Which wasn't making things any easier.

"I should go," I said standing up. "This … is exactly what your father doesn't want."

"My father is assuming that I want a relationship with you." Her boldness caught me off guard, and I could feel that she was both determined and a little horny.

"Sookie …"

"He is keeping us apart as he thinks I will be hurt by your manwhoreish ways."

"It's more than that," I said, but knew that I would be unable to provide her with another reason.

She stood up and stepped closer to me. "I don't believe that you would hurt me. And I am also mature enough to realise that it would be sex only."

She was pushing my will power to the very edge of its limits, especially as she was standing in only my shirt and nothing else; her tanned, shapely legs sticking out the bottom of it, and the white colour accentuating her colouring and features.

"Sookie, you have no idea how much I want to take you right now. Believe me. But Godric has specifically told me he does not want me to go there with you. And anyway, you deserve better. You should be loved." I placed a hand on her cheek.

"Right. Do you have any idea what it is like dating when you're a fucking telepath? Trust me, you don't want to hear the every thought of someone you're dating. I don't want to hear that all the man's thinking about is finding out whether my breasts are real, or that I could be a little slimmer, or that the man would fuck me a few times and then go back to his girlfriend or wife." I had the feeling that she was talking from experience. She sighed aloud. "I don't think I will ever be able to date a human man. It's why at twenty-five I'm still a virgin."

"Vampires aren't known for long-term relationships, Sookie."

"Godric did."

"He is the exception rather than the rule. But believe me, if you think Godric is protective over you with me, a vampire he trusts, you can believe me that he is not going to want you to date any other vampire or were or shifter."

"Great. So I'm going to be a virgin forever because I have an overprotective father." She sighed. "I don't want to not see you. I like you, we get along. I think he's being ridiculous." She ran a hand through her hair, but realised she still had splashes of vampire blood in it. "I need to take a shower. Can I at least get your number or email address? I've got a lot to learn about this world, and I feel that I need a guide."

I pulled out a business card from my back pocket that had my private cell phone number on it. "Sure, but Pam may be a better choice."

"Really? She doesn't seem that she's my biggest fan."

"Give her time. Pam doesn't really have any friends, but I think the pair of you will get along."

Sookie shrugged. "Fine. But I don't like this." Neither did I.

"Call me or Pam if you need anything."

"Sure."

I stepped closer in to her to place a friendly yet restrained kiss on her forehead. However, she moved in even closer to me and wrapped her arms around me. Up this close she smelled delicious, and I could feel her body pulled tight into me. Almost without my consent, my arms wrapped around her and she rested her head against my chest where my heart lay still within my thoracic cavity.

This so wasn't a good idea for either of us, and despite still being angry with Godric for his actions, I was seeing his point of view. I would be bad news for Sookie, but then I also didn't like the idea of her being with any other vampire.

"Take care, Sookie," I said as I stepped back from her. Her eyes met mine with intensity, but she simply nodded. "As I said, call if you need anything."

I kissed her head this time as I left and headed out of her front door. I didn't turn around, but I could feel her eyes on me as I walked away. I wasn't sure quite what to make of it all as I flew back to near Fangtasia where I'd left my corvette. That wasn't how I'd envisioned our conversation going, and in many ways I'd only made things worse rather than better.

.

I didn't hear from Sookie in the couple of weeks that followed, although Pam had informed me that she had spent a fair bit of time with her father. Albeit she didn't know, I had arranged security for her when she was at home, and had specific words with her shifter boss that I expected her to be fully protected while she worked for him. He was all too keen to take up that role I gave to him, and it made me glad that she had cut back on her hours after her Gran won the competition I'd rigged.

I had been purposely avoiding Godric's calls after I left Bon Temps as I was still unhappy with the way he treated me. I knew that as my maker that he had absolutely no reason to apologise to me for biting me in the way he had, but I also knew that Godric was not a violent maker and that move had been out of character for him. But then it also showed the concern he felt for his daughter and his over-protective nature. And let's face it, he hadn't wanted me anywhere near his bonded mate, so it wasn't a surprise that he didn't want me near his miracle of a daughter.

But I couldn't get her out of my mind. It was very unlike me to become fixated by any female, and had only happened a handful of times in my thousand plus years. And usually only until I had said female and fucked her out of my system. I could only imagine that was what Godric didn't want to happen.

I was therefore surprised when Pam called me to say that Godric had requested my presence at Sookie's house in Bon Temps. As I had been on business in Area Four, in Alexandria, it did not take me too long to fly to the small town, and when I touched down I was greeted by my child. I was aware that Godric was inside as well as another presence, which I recognised as Dr Ludwig.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked Pam straight away.

She shook her head. "I do not know. Merlotte contacted me to say she'd called into work sick – something she had never done before. When I got here, she had a raised temperature but was shivering as if she was cold. I called Godric and then Ludwig, they are both with her now."

"Why am I here?" I asked with bitterness.

"She has been asking for you. Godric told me to call you and bring you here."

I was surprised at that, but walked into the house. Her Gran was nowhere to be seen, and after searching the house I heard the steady sleeping heartbeat of a human. Godric or Pam had obviously glamoured her into sleeping, as otherwise she would be no doubt concerned about her granddaughter.

When I entered Sookie's bedroom, the sight truly shocked me.

.

**Sookie**

Pain. Absolute, blinding pain.

It had been slowly getting worse for days, but not only that, I'd been unable to keep my telepathy under control and every one of my other senses was hyper aware. I could hear every whisper, I noticed each leaf on the trees around my home despite the fact that it was pitch dark outside. I could smell every different scent in the air to the point of tasting them, and the old sheets I was laying on felt like sandpaper on my skin.

I also had a blinding headache and felt like every bone in my body was going to shatter at any minute. Gran had called the doctor for me earlier on in the day, who'd diagnosed good old-fashioned 'flu. But I had a feeling that it wasn't that. I had a feeling that whatever was wrong with me was something more supernatural then a common bug, especially as I'd never had a sick day before in my life.

However, it hadn't been long after it got dark before Pam turned up. She took one look at me before calling Godric and then came to sit with me, although I wasn't much up to any conversation.

After that, the pain got worse … my face and mouth hurt, my stomach hurt and despite the fact that I felt incredibly hungry, I'd thrown up whatever food I consumed. I was aware that I was drifting in an out of consciousness, and at one point I was sure in my delusional state that I saw a Hobbit.

The Hobbit wore glasses and a stern expression as it assessed me, poking and prodding at me in various places and doing nothing to make the pain go away. I was only getting more agitated until I suddenly felt a calming presence in the room, which I reached out to.

"Sookie, you need to stay still." The voice was calming, and I did as I was told even though in many ways my hunger was greater, and there was a delicious smell in the room.

As I drifted in and out of lucidity, I was aware of a conversation in the room, but I was in no way able to join it.

"_Well … what is wrong with her?"_

"_She is making the transition."_

"_Vampires don't have transitions."_

"_True, but the Fae do."_

"_No offence, doc, but she seems distinctly more vampire like than Fae right now."_

"_True, but I suspect that although it is her Fae blood that is causing this change, it is her vampire nature that is taking over. Niall?"_

"_That seems logical. Although I had hoped she would come into her Fae abilities. She may only be one-quarter Faery but she is of a strong line."_

"_She may still yet. We will not know until she had passed through this."_

"_And how do we do that? She is getting worse not better."_

"_I believe she needs blood."_

"_Blood?"_

"_Yes. We can try human blood, but it may be vampire blood she requires."_

"_She can feed from me."_

"_I do not think that would be wise."_

"_Why not?"_

"_You are her biological father?"_

"_Yes."_

"_She is already of your blood; your DNA. It cannot be you." _

"_She can feed from me."_

"_No."_

"_Godric."_

"_I said no. You will not bond with her."_

"_She has fed from you already?"_

"_Yes, she was injured and I gave her my blood."_

"_That was the second time. If he feeds her again than the bond will form."_

"_I have not drunk from her."_

"_Irrelevant."_

"_No, it should be Northman. Vampires do not bond the way a human and vampire do, and considering that his presence is already calming her, it is right that he is the one to feed her."_

"_Pam can do it."_

"_No, she is too young. It has to be Northman. But we will try the human blood first. I have some in my case if you would be kind enough to heat it."_

"_Sure."_

"_Doctor Ludwig, there must be another way."_

"_Godric, I am sorry. I understand that you do not wish your child to feed her, but I worry that she may be running out of time."_

"_Fae blood wouldn't help her?"_

"_Not unless you want to get yourself eaten, Prince. Northman is the only candidate if the human blood does not aid her."_

"_It is warmed to human body temperature."_

At that moment something warm and liquid met my lips. It tasted good, but it wasn't satisfying and did nothing to quench my thirst or the pain ricocheting through my body. After a few sips I did my best to push the vessel away from me.

"She's not taking it," someone stated.

I felt that my body was beginning to shake more, and I felt cool hands holding me down.

"She needs your blood, Northman."

"Godric?"

"Give it to her."

I suddenly sensed that a cool arm was over my mouth and drops of the most delicious liquid fell into my mouth. I latched onto the source, sucking hard and when it stopped, I bit easily, moaning as the delicious liquid calmed me.

"That's enough Sookie," a smooth voice said to me, and I felt a hand running through my hair. I opened my eyes to see Eric's cool, pale blue ones staring into mine. I felt calmer and more in control, the pain from my body suddenly gone as I sank into awareness.

"How are you feeling, Miss Stackhouse?"

I looked to the female voice to see a short, plump woman with Harry Potter style glasses and brown hair in a tight chignon at the back of her head. She had a stethoscope around her neck, which indicated that she must be a physician of sorts. She was also half the size of Eric, who was standing next to her.

"Okay," I croaked. "What happened to me?"

"I am not too sure of that, but I suspect that you have gone through some kind of transition, probably caused by coming to Fae maturity. I need to run some further tests to fully understand, but I'm sure you realise how unusual your parentage is. This lineage is not something I have any information about."

I looked over to Godric as he stood in the corner watching, as he watched me back he stepped forward so that he was level with Eric. I couldn't help but notice a tension between them, and I shifted my body with relative ease to sit up in bed. I was still only in the nightgown I'd been wearing that morning, and I felt decidedly underdressed with Eric's eyes burning on me.

"Eric fed you his blood as drugs and human blood didn't help you."

Ew, I'd drank human blood? That just wasn't right. But then, Eric's blood had been the most delicious thing to me.

"Why?"

"I had to help you, Sookie," Eric said, his eyes blazing as he stepped closer.

"No, I don't mean that, and I thank you. But why did I need vampire blood?"

Both Eric and Godric turned to the doctor. "I think that although your transition was caused by your Fae blood, it is your vampire side that has taken over. We will not know more until you have been tested. It is possible that you have also developed Fae abilities."

"Does this mean I can't go outside? That I'll never see daylight again, or be able to work?"

The three of them looked at each other. It was Godric that spoke up. "My daughter, you will not be able to stay here during the daylight hours until we know whether you are able to go out of doors. It is not safe. You will come with me."

"And what of my life? My Gran? My job? Do you expect me to give up all them?" I was yelling at him, and I knew it wasn't his fault, but I needed to take this out on someone as he was there.

"This may change everything, my child. But it may not. Come, it is only a few hours until dawn and want to make sure that you are safe." He turned to Eric. "I assume that you will come with us?"

"If I am welcome to." His tone was sharp and snappish as if something had happened between maker and child.

"It is your home I am staying in. And I would like you to join us."

"I will be there then. For Sookie."

I was instructed to pack a small suitcase of belongings for a few night stay, while the vampires, Niall and the doctor went to talk together away from me. I wasn't impressed with them talking about me behind my back, but I had too many things on my mind to be too concerned about what they were saying about me.

"How are you feeling?" Eric asked as he leaned against the doorjamb. I was already packed and he indicated for me to give him the case to carry.

"Fine, now." I gave him my luggage. "What's going on between you and Godric?" I knew that something had happened.

He shrugged. "We had a disagreement."

"About me?"

He sighed. "Don't worry about it. We've argued before." I was sure that was the case, but something told me that this was worse than normal.

"I don't want to come between you."

He smiled. "You won't."

I wasn't sure about that either. "Thank you for feeding me your blood. Why did it have to be yours?"

"I'm not entirely sure. It's possibly because you'd had mine before."

"Earlier … I heard you all talking, Godric mentioned a bond. Has that happened?"

"I don't think so. It could be because I have not drunk from you, or it could be that you are not human enough to bond. We cannot be certain."

"Let me guess; it's because I'm unique."

"You are," he said with a smile. "And you need to accept that. But don't worry, we're going to work all this out, and I'll be here if you need me."

"Thanks. But what about Gran?"

"Godric woke her earlier and re-glamoured her into believing that you have gone off with friends. I will speak to the Shifter and tell him something closer to the truth, but for obvious reasons he cannot know what has happened." He held out a hand to me. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," I answered with a shrug.

* * *

><p><strong>So … what is Sookie now? Can she only feed from Eric? Can she go out into the daylight? Will Sam chase after her?<strong>

**I'd love to know your thoughts.**

**;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Lux Æterna – Chapter 8**

* * *

><p><strong>Sookie<strong>

* * *

><p>We all piled into Pam's SUV, with Godric and me in the back, and Pam next to Eric who was in the driving seat. Not a word was spoken as we headed back to Shreveport, but the tension between Godric and Eric was palpable and beginning to concern me.<p>

When we arrived back at Eric's house, Godric showed us all in while Eric hung back despite the fact that it was his home, but then Godric had been the one living there while Eric was in New Orleans. All in all, it wasn't making the tension between the two males any easier and at one point, I caught Pam's gaze and smiled to myself as she rolled her eyes at their antics. Pam excused herself once we were all inside to head back to her own house, but I couldn't help but notice that there was some kind of secret dialogue between her and her maker before she left.

I'd been in the large house when I first met Godric that night, and I'd been there since in the few weeks that we'd spent getting to know each other. But we'd always stayed on the upper floors, and predominantly spent time in the kitchen, den, library or living room. I'd only briefly viewed the bedrooms upstairs, and that was where I thought I'd be shown to. However, Godric led us into the library where he flicked open a secret panel, entered a long number on the alphanumeric keypad and a door appeared out of nowhere in the wall. I'd never have known it was there, but then I guessed that was the point.

The stairway down was well lit, although I couldn't help but jump when Eric shut the door to the library loudly behind him as we went further down. I couldn't even imagine how an underground lair like this was built, and where I was thinking that it would be small, damn and pokey, it seemed that there were multiple rooms leading off a steel lined corridor.

"There are only two bedrooms down here," Godric stated while opening the door to one of them. "This is the room I have been staying in, and you will sleep in here with me. You can take the bed; I will take the sofa."

There was no arguing with Godric's tone, but I couldn't help but look over to Eric to see a pissed off expression on his face. Obviously, he assumed that I was bunking with him.

The room was a good size, with dark brown walls and a wooden floor. But it was furnished with cream drapes on the walls and soft rugs on the floor, and the lighting came from lamps rather than an overhead light source. It was masculine but comforting at the same time. The bed dominating the room was a four-poster in dark wood with pale brown covers and comfortable looking cushions and pillows. I had to admit that I was more than ready to fall into it considering the evening I'd had. But there was a further issue I had to deal with first.

"Can I ask a question?"

I looked at the pair of them in turn who both agreed that I could ask anything. I slowly and deliberately went to sit on the bed, crossing my jean-clad legs underneath me. Godric was standing in the middle of the room watching me, while Eric was further back and leaning against the doorjamb as he watched the pair of us.

"What the fuck is with you two?"

"Nothing," they both said at the same time. I felt like I was dealing with a pair of eight-year-olds rather than three thousand years' worth of vampire.

I sighed. "I don't want to come between the two of you. It's obvious that something has happened and I'm guessing that I'm the cause of this. So spill."

"This is not your fault," Godric implored as he took a step closer to me.

"Damn straight," I heard Eric mutter to himself, although he seemed surprised when I looked over at him as if I wasn't supposed to have heard him.

"What happened? Godric?" For some reason I had the feeling that I'd get a more sensible answer out of my father than Eric.

He ran a hand over his short brown hair. "I have told my child that I do not wish him to be in your company, that he is not to pursue any kind of relationship with you and that I did not approve of his feeding you his blood."

"You didn't approve? Does that mean you do now?"

He didn't answer straight away. "I am still not happy with it, but as his blood possibly saved your life I will not resent his feeding you."

Eric snorted, and in a flash of movement, Godric had moved to stand in front of Eric as they both bared their fangs at each other.

"Stop it!" I yelled at the pair of them. "Stop this. Godric, please leave him. He had done nothing wrong."

He turned to me, anger still in his eyes. "Sookie, you do not know the vampire ways. My child must know his place."

"What about what I want?" I asked him. "Do I get a choice?"

"Of course you do."

"Well I want to spend time with Eric."

My father looked astounded that I would make such a request. "Why? Eric doesn't have female friends, and I am not going to let him use you and cast you aside like he has done to every other female in his past."

"Isn't that for me to judge?" I asked gently, getting up from where I was sitting and moving closer to the two vampires.

"I would allow that if you knew all the facts."

"Meaning?"

"Sookie, I doubt even my child knows the number of women that he has slept with and cast aside, but I wouldn't be surprised if that number ran into the hundreds of thousands."

Shit, that was a lot of women. But then he was over one thousand years old, and with looks like he has you could hardly blame women for throwing themselves at him. But still, how the hell could I measure up to that kind of history, and he had told me that he hadn't done the serious relationship thing like my father had done.

Even so, for some unknown reason that didn't make me want to recoil away from Eric no matter how much my father was hoping it would. I'd been drawn to him the second I saw him, and we'd built some kind of camaraderie between us, maybe even the starting of a friendship. And that didn't necessarily have to be sexual or romantic in nature.

I looked up at Eric who held my gaze, but there was something in his eyes that I couldn't quite distinguish. I gave him a small smile before turning my attention back to Godric.

"Look, I get your point. But I'm an adult and capable of making my own decisions. I managed in this world okay before you came along. But with this change in me … I'm going to need as much help with this as I can, and I'm going to want both of you to help me. I don't know what the hell is going on, and you don't either. And in all honesty I'm scared of what may happen to me." I paused to take a deep breath. "So will you please tell me what the hell happened between the two of you, as I know there is something you're not telling me."

Godric shook his head but gave a slight smile. "You are so much like your mother. She was stubborn to a fault, and you certainly have inherited that characteristic from her." He paused to look at Eric. "I am not proud of myself; I am sorry, my child." Godric bowed his head to the taller vampire.

Eric still didn't say anything, and I felt the need to say something to lift the mood or ease the tension in the room. "What did you do?"

Godric looked again to Eric before turning to me. "Vampires are territorial creatures, and our children count as territory. I am humiliated to say that I bit Eric in a display of dominance as I was unhappy with his feeding you."

"You bit him?" I had a feeling that he didn't mean a gentle bite.

"I did, and I am ashamed of myself. Forgive me, child."

"Eric?" I prompted when he still hadn't responded. "He's apologised to you. You are supposed to accept his apology."

He sighed. "I do, sire, I know that is not like you. But I do not accept that I must stay away from Sookie. And even more now that she needs my blood."

Godric narrowed his eyes. "We cannot know that she can't live on human blood, or that she needs blood at all. She may not be able to take my blood as she is of my flesh, but that doesn't mean she couldn't feed from other vampires."

"And how exactly would you propose that? You know how jealously vampires guard their blood; no vampire in their right mind would give up pints of their blood. And for her safety, the only ones who can know of this are the two of us and Pam. And Ludwig has already said that her blood wasn't strong enough. It may be that I am the only one she can feed from."

Eric had a point, but I could see that Godric wasn't happy with that. "We do not know what will come to course." Godric's voice was almost a growl. "But you are right; you will have to stay close by for the time being. Assuming you can?"

Eric raised an eyebrow. "I will speak to Rasul, and I can have all calls diverted here. No one will know any different, and if necessary I can spend short periods of time in New Orleans."

I couldn't help but smile at the thought of Eric spending more time around Northern Louisiana. But it still pained me that the two vampires who had seemed so close when I first met them still had this obvious rift between them.

"Thank you, Eric," I said to him graciously. He was giving me his blood after all, and I may well have died without it earlier on in the night.

"Anything for you," he told me with a nod of his head. His pale blue eyes sparked with intensity. "If you will excuse me, I will retire."

Eric nodded to Godric before taking his leave, exiting the room and quietly shutting the door behind him. I heard the sound of another door opening and then closing further down the corridor.

I looked to my father once we were alone who sighed deeply to himself. "You are attracted to him." It was a statement rather than a question.

"I can't help him. I felt a connection with him almost instantly. I don't know what it is, but you've both made me more than aware of his past."

This was uncomfortable talking to him about this. He may look quite a few years younger than me, but I was aware of how old he was as well as the fact that he was my biological father and obviously protective over me.

I went on. "I may not be that … experienced in the matters of relationships or … anything. But I'm a tough girl; I've had to be to deal with some of the shit thrown at me over the years. You're treating me as if I'm the finest china, and I can assure you that I am not that breakable." I could see that he was about to interrupt me. "And before you say it, I know that I am new to this whole world of vampires, but I am stronger than you think I am."

"I hope that you are right, as it is likely that you will have to be. Particularly if others find out about you – something I fully intend on not happening. But even if we can keep your parentage secret, it will come out that you are a telepath. That Eric was the one who found out first who fortunate for you, but that doesn't mean that others won't find out."

"I guess I should thank Hadley for spilling to Eric rather than someone else."

"Maybe. And Eric will make it known that you are under his protection should needs be. But vampires are devious creatures and when another vampire has something they want, then they tend to take it first and ask questions second. You must be vigilant and protected. And I am going to do everything within my power to make sure that you are protected."

"Eric will too," I pointed out.

Godric didn't answer me but looked deep in thought. I picked up the bag that Eric had carried down for me and picked out a pair of pyjamas, not wanting to sleep in anything sexier considering I was bunking with my father.

"Dawn is close, go and get ready for bed."

I acknowledged his request and went to the bathroom where I washed my face, brushed my teeth, went to the loo and got changed into my sleep pants and a tight back sleeveless t-shirt. By the time I re-entered the bedroom, Godric had found some spare blankets and pillows and was making up the sofa.

"You know, I'm happy to …"

"You're my daughter; my guest. Take the bed." A 'please' would have been nice, but I'd noticed that vampires weren't ones for pleasantries no matter how civilised they could seem.

"Sure." I went over and climbed into the bed and revelled at the thick, luxurious sheets. I didn't want to know how much bedding like this cost, but I was willing to bet that it wasn't remotely cheap.

"Can you feel the dawn coming?" Godric asked me.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Will I fall asleep as soon as the sun rises?"

Godric sat down on the sofa. "A new vampire would. But then we are also hard-wired into knowing when the sun will rise. And believe me, you'd recognise the pull of the sun."

"You think that I may not go under like you and Eric do? Does that mean I may be able to go out in daylight?"

"It's possible. Only time will tell. But tonight, you're not leaving this room. The door to the main house is locked, so don't even try it." There was a thinly veiled threat there. Although to be honest, it was an all-out threat. "There are easier and safer ways of finding out whether you are a light tolerant or not than stepping outside."

"Which are?"

"An ultraviolet lamp for a start. It is something we can try when the time is right."

"Sure." Godric laid down on the sofa and pulled the covers over him. "Can you stay awake during the day?"

"Because of my age I can stay awake for probably an hour after the sun has risen, and again I will wake an hour or so before dawn. Eric is the same. Younger vampires, however, are fully under the control of the sun. And is needs be, I am able to wake and rouse myself during the day if my existence depended on it."

"Good to know."

I watched him in the minimal light of the room as he became more lethargic. We both said goodnight, but where he seemed to drop off, I was still wide awake. I wondered whether my lack of sleepiness was due to being unconscious earlier on in the evening as I normally needed a few hours' sleep each night.

I climbed out of the large bed and stood up. I didn't doubt for one minute that I would be able to leave the underground lair and go upstairs, but that didn't mean I had to stay in Godric's room. I quietly walked past him, although for all intents and purposes, he was dead, and opened the door. Luckily, the thing didn't make any noise, and I closed it silently behind me. There were a few other doors along the corridor that I could make out from the minimal lighting, although Godric had already told me that there were only two bedrooms.

I went to the far end of the corridor first, but saw that the door there needed a code to be entered, and I wondered whether it was some kind of emergency exit, as surely no safety-conscious vampire would leave themselves with only one exit, no matter how secure the compound.

The next door I opened was to a large office. There was a laptop on the table, but behind that many screens showing security cameras from the house I was in, as well as other places that I didn't recognise. It certainly made me think about quite how hard it must have been for vampires to remain hidden for all those years, and how many things had changed for everyone in the two years or so that they'd been out of the coffin.

I shut that door behind me and walked with trepidation to the last door I hadn't tried as I knew what was in it.

Or, rather, who.

The door opened as silently as the others and I allowed myself a moment to adjust to the darkness in the room, a blue light from the stereo being the only light source in the room. But where my night vision had always been good, now it was even better, and I was sure that I probably could have seen perfectly well even without that blue light.

I closed the door behind me but remained standing still with my back against the heavy wood. The room was larger than the one I'd been staying in, but had the same hard wood floor underfoot. The walls appeared to be painted in a firebrick red colour, with darker burgundy drapes over the large four poster bed that probably could easily sleep ten.

_And it probably had._

I quashed that thought as soon as it arrived, but I couldn't help the jealousy that fired in me at the thought of Eric with other women. Hundreds of thousands of other women; something Eric hadn't exactly denied.

As to be expected, the sheets of the bed were also red and looked so soft, and my feet were drawing me closer to his bed to find out almost without my consent. As I reached out I discovered that rather than the soft cotton in Godric's room, these were silk and smooth on my fingers.

I finally allowed my eyes to fall on the sleeping form of Eric, and although I felt guilty for being in his bedroom while he was asleep and vulnerable, I couldn't stop myself from staring at him. He was on his back with one arm lying by his side and his right hand splayed across his tight abdominal muscles. Which were bare as Eric obviously slept shirtless. Although that thought only led me to wonder whether he slept entirely naked, and it took all the willpower I had to not peel back the sheets, which were bunched up around his waist.

But he was beautiful. Stunningly handsome and masculine with wide muscled shoulders, a strong neck and solidly defined arms. His chest was a work of art with the sculpted muscles of a man who worked out but didn't spend every hour of the day in the gym or guzzling down steroids. And again it only made me want to pull back the sheets to see the whole of him.

I still wasn't feeling overly tired, but I had the whole day to kill and even in December that was a good ten hours. So I climbed into bed with him. I knew that on many levels it wasn't the right thing to do as for no other reason it was going to seriously piss off my father, but I couldn't help myself.

The bed was big enough that I didn't have to lie right next to him, but I still did. His body was cool as I placed my hand on his arm, but I didn't go any further than that as it was beyond wrong to feel up a man – or vampire – who was asleep. But I still wanted to be close to him, so curled up onto my side facing him as I gently caressed his muscular upper arm and shut my eyes.

"Sookie?"

A cool finger was wandering down my arm and I rolled over from the side I was laying on so that I could face him.

"What are you doing in here?"

I felt myself blush as I remembered walking into his room not long after sunrise and climbing uninvited into his bed.

"I'm sorry … I shouldn't have … I …"

He held onto my arm to stop me from moving.

"… I didn't think I'd sleep for so long…"

He smiled a beautiful smile. "I like that you came in here."

"I didn't look or anything, I promise."

He raised an eyebrow. "Were you tempted?"

I only blushed further. "No."

"I can tell that you're lying to me, Sookie. You've had my blood, remember?"

I swallowed hard. "What time is it?" I was suddenly concerned that Godric was about to walk in at any point.

"About two hours before dawn. I'm not normally awake this early. But obviously this time, I had something to wake up for." The look on his face was loaded, and I felt naked despite the clothes I was wearing and the silk sheets covering me. "Why did you come in here?"

Wasn't that the question.

"I … I didn't fall asleep at dawn, so I went for a walk and … ended up here." I was hoping that he wasn't going to probe any further, but I knew that he would.

"Oh really. And why did you end up in my bed?"

"I was tired?"

"Is that a question?" he purred.

I didn't answer him.

"I know that you're drawn to me, Sookie. I can feel it … I can smell it. I know that you want me … and I want you too." He moved his head so that his mouth was only inches away from mine. "Do you want me, Sookie?"

He moved even closer.

"Yes," I breathed. I expected him to lean in and kiss me, but he did the opposite, pulling back away from me, a serious expression in his eyes.

"I know that what you think of me … what Godric has told you. Yes, I am experienced in the manner of lovers, but I tell you this, Sookie. Never in all my thousand plus years have I wanted a woman as much as I want you." There was an intensity in his eyes that told me he meant every word. "And I don't just mean for one night. The thought of any other man touching you makes me want to rip the arms off their bodies. I don't want to share you, and I want to be yours."

I was somewhat taken aback by Eric's declaration, and I really didn't know what to think of it. But I knew that he meant ever word. And not just from the intensity of his gaze, but there was more to it that I couldn't quite fathom.

"I want you to bite me," I whispered to him. I wasn't sure where that thought had come from; I wasn't sure I consented to those words coming out of me. But I knew it was what I wanted him to do. And from the look of him, he was more than willing to do so.

"Are you sure?" his mouth was only millimetres away from neck, and I could feel his cool breath on my sensitive skin.

"Yes … please." I was willing to beg if I had to.

"This won't hurt a bit," he whispered before wrapping an arm underneath me and gathering me to him.

And he was right, in fact, it was probably the most pleasurable sensation I could ever remember. I felt him draw hard on the wounds in my neck, and I was sure that every cell in my body was bursting with pleasure as endorphins filled my bloodstream. In that instance I'd have happily let Eric take every drop of blood from my body, but all too soon, and before I'd reached any kind of release, he pulled back, licking my neck to catch any drops he'd spilled and then his lips and fangs.

His fangs …, which were so beautiful, long and shiny. I was almost panting with desire as I stared at them, and I unconsciously brought my fingers to my own mouth as if I had them. And to my surprise, I did.

"What the?"

I drew back a little from Eric in surprise, but he held me steadfast. "They're beautiful, Sookie. I saw them first last night when you fed from me. But they're not noticeable otherwise. You're perfect."

Eric brought his finger up to my new fangs and gently ran it down the length of them. Another jolt of pleasure shot through my body as he did so, and I returned the favour as I ran a finger down each of his fangs. He closed his eyes and moaned in desire, which only made me want to stroke him more. And I didn't just mean his fangs … I was getting determined to find out whether he had gone to bed naked.

I placed one hand on his bare chest, his smooth skin taught over hard muscle while my other hand went to the side of his face.

"I want to kiss you," he whispered to me, and as I was all too willing, I moved closer to him. He leaned in and closed the distance between us, his lips cool and surprisingly soft as he kissed me with expert precision.

I had kissed men before, I'd even gotten to second base with a few ex-boyfriends. But never had I felt as turned on as I did with Eric kissing me. His hands were innocently placed, but I felt like my whole body was on fire. I moved the hand I'd placed on his chest to his side, and I couldn't stop it as it ran further down his torso.

To discover that he was, in fact, naked.

"I never sleep clothed," he whispered into my ear as he momentarily pulled back from kissing me.

I pulled myself closer to him, with Eric's arms wrapping themselves around me to hold me tight to him, and I distinctly felt something pressing into my lower abdomen. Something very large, that was.

"I want you," I moaned in between kisses, my right hand thrusting into his hair as I almost climbed on top of him.

I was close to ripping off my clothes and impaling myself upon him when the door to Eric's room flew open with a crash to reveal a hugely pissed off Godric.

"Get your hands off her," he seethed, his eyes almost glowing in the dark. "Get away from my daughter."

"No!" I yelled back at him before Eric had the chance to stop me. In truth, I surprised myself with how quickly I moved, but I was standing in front of Godric and using myself as a shield between him and Eric. Although I was more than aware that Godric didn't need to be touching Eric to cause him pain as he was his maker. "If you hurt him, I will no longer be your daughter."

Godric's eyes suddenly snapped to me, and his shocked expression was evident. "Sookie," he started in a warning tone.

"No," I interrupted before he got too far. "I mean it. And if you must punish one of us, then punish me as I am the one who came in here and slept in Eric's bed."

"I cannot believe that."

"You can't? So how did I end up here? Did you scent Eric in your bedroom, did he drag me here against my will?" I glared at my father. "No, he did not. Now, if you don't mind, I was busy."

I turned back to Eric, who had somehow managed to get himself dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt while I had my back to him.

"This is not the time, Sookie," he said in a gently yet respectful tone. But he was right; Godric had certainly cockblocked the pair of us. "Godric, can you feel Sookie's emotions?" I turned so that I could see my father, and I saw him nod his head. "And you can feel mine as well. You know what we feel for each other."

I was surprised at his statement, and looked up at Eric who carried on speaking to his maker.

"I know that you do not like this … I wouldn't expect you to. But Sookie is an adult and capable of making up her own mind, and I am not going to hurt her."

The two vampires both held their ground, and I had the feeling there was some king of dialogue or battle of wills between them. However, eventually Godric's eyes flared at the younger vampire, and he turned on his heel. "If you hurt her, you will pay for it."

He quickly left the room, and I felt the need to follow him, but Eric held me back with a strong arm around my waist. "Give him a little time to get used to this. He's had a lot to deal with recently, and vampires don't always deal too well with change."

I turned his arms so that I was facing him.

"But Sookie, I do want you, and I will do all I can to not hurt you."

I smiled. "I know. And likewise. But how are we going to do this?"

He shrugged. "Not a clue. But I look forward to finding out."

* * *

><p><strong>Come on – you knew Godric was going to interrupt them!<strong>

**I'd love to know your thoughts on what may happen next, and how the hell Sookie and Eric are going to manage a relationship of sorts.**

**;)**

**PS, I've now finished all the Black Dagger Brotherhood books (love Zsadist!) – any recommendations?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Lux Æterna – Chapter 9**

* * *

><p><strong>Eric<strong>

* * *

><p>I begrudgingly unlocked myself from an embrace with Sookie and took half a step backwards. "Let me go and talk to him. I'll bring your belongings through here and you're welcome to use my shower."<p>

The truth was that it was painful to think of Sookie naked in my shower while I wasn't there with her, but this whole situation was balancing on a knife-edge and I needed to smooth things over with my maker.

I kissed her forehead before leaving her alone and went down the hall to the second bedroom that I'd always thought of as Godric's, even though this was the first time he'd actually used it. He didn't acknowledge me as I went in and picked up Sookie's belongings, but when I went back a second time; I shut the door behind me.

I didn't say anything while I stood there inside the room, and I couldn't feel anything from Godric either as he'd firmly clamped down on our bond. It gave me some time to assess what I felt for Sookie, and in truth, I didn't really understand what it was. It was nothing I had ever felt before, and was more akin to what I felt for Godric or Pam than any other human or vampire I'd come across.

"It's love, Eric," Godric finally said to me. He had been sitting on the edge of the large bed and he finally turned his head to me. "What you're feeling. You're beginning to love her."

Well that was unexpected, but I supposed it made sense. Somehow, in the weeks that I'd known Sookie, I'd managed to fall deeply for her. And that was despite the fact that I'd hardly seen her. She'd gotten under my skin, and I had to admit that she'd been on my mind more than I cared to admit.

He sighed. "And I think she loves you too. Certainly if you consider the way she stood up to protect you against me. You're beginning to bond with her and not in the way that I was bonded to Niamh. I'm not sure that the two of you can have a normal blood bond like that, but you seem to be bonding as mates."

I felt a jolt of panic shoot through me at that thought. And not because I didn't want Sookie as my mate, but that I was surprised at how quickly things had moved ahead and how much it was changing me. Things would be different if I had a bonded mate, and dangerous. Probably for both of us.

"I'm not going to hurt her, Godric. I promise you that."

He stood up and came over to me, placing a hand on the side of my neck. "You are my only child. I have always wanted what is best for you. And it's been an unexpectedly emotional time for me learning that Niamh had a daughter. That I have a daughter."

"You miss Niamh." The truth of that was clear in his eyes.

He removed his hand and lowered his head. "Yes. I have missed her for the past twenty-five years, but now, learning the reason of why she left? It makes me miss her even more. I wish she could have seen the beautiful woman her daughter has become. And Sookie is so like her. Right down to her stubborn and rebellious streak." He smiled to himself. "I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Niamh was a half-fairy who fell in love with a vampire; I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that her daughter would do the same." He smiled to himself before a more serious expression took over his features. "I know that short of locking her up and keeping the two of you apart, I don't get a say in this. But I swear to you, Eric, you will do everything within your power to keep her safe, and if you hurt her I will not be responsible for my actions."

I nodded to him. "I'd expect that. And even if I didn't feel what I do for her, I'd do all I could to protect her as she is your daughter." I wasn't quite sure that I could use the L-word myself. "Are you okay?" I asked quietly after Godric stepped back from me.

"I am. Take care of her, Eric."

I wasn't quite convinced, and as he was still blocking me, I couldn't tell from his emotions what he was feeling. But I respectfully nodded my head and left his room to head back into my own.

Sookie had showered and dressed in the time I'd been away, and was drying her hair using my hairdryer, her glorious scent being distributed throughout my room. She looked up with a smile as I entered, and she looked beautiful in a long-sleeved dark red dress that I imagined would hug each of her every curve.

"All okay?" she asked.

"I think so. He misses your mom, and I'm certain my attraction to you is making him think of her more."

"Shit, I didn't think about that." She had a guilty look on her face, and I couldn't stop myself from taking her face in my palm and running my thumb over her cheek. "He must be hurting. Maybe we should make sure that he's okay. I mean, let's hold off until you and I get some time alone."

I liked the way she was thinking, and I also respected her regard for Godric. He and I may have had our differences of late, but he'd been a lot to me over the thousand years I'd been a vampire, and I didn't want to see him hurt.

"Sure. Although I'm hoping that we can get some alone time soon." I went over and picked up her brush, combing through her long blonde hair as she continued to dry it.

A knock at the door indicated Godric's arrival, and I called for him to enter. Sookie went up to him and wrapped her arms around him, and I couldn't keep the smile off my lips at Godric's obvious joy at her affection.

"I'm going to take a shower," I announced to them both, and as the sun had now set, they were free to go into the upper part of the house.

Godric led Sookie upstairs while I climbed into the shower, which was still saturated with her scent. A smell that went straight to my cock. Normally, I would have spent some time dealing with myself, but with the real thing upstairs, I decided I'd rather be frustrated and in her company.

.

"You don't feel sick?" Godric's tone was concerned as I entered the kitchen, and I watched Sookie polish off a slice of toast.

"No, I don't. Honestly."

"Are you still hungry?" I asked.

"Kind of. Although I'm not sure what for." Godric looked at me, and I shared his thoughts. She obviously needed both blood and human food. Which made her just about unique. She looked at the two of us in turn before settling her gaze on Godric. "And apparently, I have fangs."

She ran her finger along the top row of teeth in her mouth, before frowning with the cutest expression when she didn't find any.

"How…"

I smiled. "I told you, they're not noticeable all the time. For us, our fangs normally grow longer when we're angry or hungry." Or horny, I didn't say. "And you can control them on your own, although that may take time."

"Right."

"Do you need to feed?" I asked her. When she nodded her head, I bit into my arm and offered it to her. Her fangs slid down the moment she smelled my blood, and she launched herself at me, her lips capturing the blood from my bleeding wound and sucking hard.

I couldn't hold back the moan as she fed from me and it made me think of the mouthful of her blood she'd offered to me. She'd tasted delicious; better than any other human or vampire had tasted, with just the right amount of Fae blood in her that didn't mean I had the urge to drain her.

When my wound sealed itself, Sookie proved that she did have fangs by biting messily into my arm. She certainly needed some guidance on how to bite cleanly, but if she had the same urges for bloodlust that most new vampires did, then it was going to take some time.

She took three more long pulls of my blood before letting go of my arm and instinctively licking the wounds shut as well as lapping up any drops that she'd missed. She looked up to me, her eyes bright blue and her lips red from my blood. I wanted to kiss her. But with Godric standing by I restrained myself and handed her a tissue to wipe the blood from her mouth.

"I guess I do have fangs," she whispered shyly and bringing her fingers to her mouth. "And I'm sorry; I didn't mean to launch myself at you like that. I guess I was hungrier than I thought, and your blood smells delicious. But that isn't normal, is it? I shouldn't be wanting to feed from other vampires?"

I looked to Godric to answer her. "I'd like to try you with human blood once more. It could have been because you were making your transition at that time."

Sookie shrugged. "Sure, but I can't say I like the idea of biting people. No offence Eric," she turned to me and smiled.

"None taken. I'll sit with you, and maybe we can all feed together."

Godric seemed to like that suggestion. "We can, although I think it would be wise to glamour the humans to forgetting about Sookie."

"Good point." I agreed with that suggestion.

"So … what … you have humans that live here for feeding purposes?" she seemed mildly disgusted at the thought.

I nodded. "Any large home with vampires living in it has always had humans living with them as a food source."

"That's barbaric!"

"Let me finish" I said to her calmly. "They are there by choice, and if they wish to leave, they are simply glamoured and let go. They know what we are, and it is normally a symbiotic relationship."

"They get blood from you?"

"No."

"Right. Sex."

There was a distinct annoyance in her tone, and I could feel her irritation and anger flooding the fledgling bond. "Sookie …"

She didn't look up at me and simply stared at the wall in front of her, her jaw clenched firmly shut.

"Sookie."

She finally turned her head to me, and I saw a wealth of emotions in her eyes. I could tell that she assumed I'd be having sex with those I fed from, and while I was slightly offended at her suggestion, I also liked that she was being territorial and possessive of me.

"I'm going to feed only. I will not be with any other of those humans. You have my word."

She visibly relaxed. "Thank you … I just … I don't like the thought of it." Godric caught my eye and gave me an approving nod.

"You can be with me while I feed. Nothing more will happen."

"Sure. Can we also test the whole sunlight thing? Godric, you said that we could use a UV lamp?"

I gritted my teeth, really not liking that idea. But Godric was right in saying that it was the safest way to test whether she could go out into the daylight.

"We can. Eric, I assume you have one?"

"I do." I switched to my native language for the rest of the sentence. "I don't like this, Godric. I do not wish for her to get hurt."

"And neither do I, my child," he responded in the same language. "But this is safer than having her walk into daylight."

When we both looked at Sookie, she was glaring at us. "Um, you do realise that that is rude?"

"I am sorry," Godric told her in a level voice. "Eric is only concerned about hurting you, and as am I. But we will do this."

I stood up and went to my locked weapons store for the UV light I kept in there. It was a lethal weapon against vampires, and I had numerous versions, some that would kill vampires within seconds of exposure. And obviously that was not the one I was going to expose Sookie to. I took the smallest of the lamps, one that I tended to use for torture sessions rather than outright warfare, and brought it back into the living room.

"I think it may be best if we do this outside," I stated. Godric and Sookie followed me out, and I placed the lamp on a bench and turned it on.

"Just place a finger or your hand into the light. I want you to leave it there for a split second only. Don't wait to see if you burn. We will be able to see if you are allergic to sunlight almost immediately."

She did just that, and I held my breath unnecessarily. Godric grabbed her hand as soon as it was out of the light and expected it.

"It feels fine. No burning, see?" After Godric inspected her hand he relented and allowed her to place it back into the UV light. This time she held it there with no adverse effects. When she moved to stand in front of the light, it was only Godric that managed to hold me back from dragging her out of it. It was more than I could manage, and took my maker's strength to hold me back.

"Eric, I'm fine. Really. This means I can go out in daylight?"

I still didn't like it, and Godric didn't either. But I think we both knew that we were going to have a hard time in holding her back now.

"You must take care, Sookie. It's possible that things may be different when the sun is up as it's not just the fact that daylight that burns us. It makes us fatigued and slow. It may affect you the same way."

"But I didn't fall asleep when the sun came up like you too did."

"Yes, Sookie," I protested, "but you also slept for much longer than you normally do. You admitted as much to me."

She looked thoughtful, and I could see that my point had registered with her. "That could have just been because I was tired. I didn't exactly get much sleep the night before. But I promise you I will be careful." She stared at the two of us. "You're not going to make me a prisoner, are you?"

There was a thinly veiled threat in her tone, and I knew we had to tread carefully. "No, we're not. But you must promise us you'll be careful and I want you to have someone with you. At least the first time, anyway."

"Well it can't be either of you."

"No, but I have a number of loyal werewolves on my staff. I will give Alcide Herveaux a call to be here tomorrow afternoon and he can shadow you."

"I don't want a babysitter." The placed her hands on her hips and glared at me.

"Call him a bodyguard."

That didn't calm her any. "I don't want a fucking bodyguard either! I mean shit, only a few months ago I could go out on my own without risk of being kidnapped or burned by the sun."

Godric came up beside her. "Yes, but a lot has changed in that time. And you've gone through some kind of transition which none of us have experienced before. We both love you, Sookie, and neither one of us wants to risk you being hurt. And more than that, we are vampires, and vampires are territorial and protect what is ours. This is going to take time for all of us to adjust to." He placed a hand on her arm. "But we don't want to you to feel trapped by any of this."

She seemed to relax and I felt her annoyance dissipate slightly. "I get the feeling that you'd both prefer it if I was locked away though." She gave me a challenging look.

"Probably. But that's not going to get me anywhere, is it?"

There was a twinkle in her eye. "No, it won't."

I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a tight hug. "Ready to try feeding?"

"Sure."

Personally, I was quite hungry after giving a lot of my blood to Sookie in the past twenty-four hours. And I knew that although Godric didn't feed often, he would on this occasion.

Godric had gone to the human quarters and came back with two males and a female. A good move on his part until the female started to eye me hungrily. She was an attractive and curvy brunette, and if I hadn't been with Sookie I probably would have enjoyed her. But she barely peaked my interest.

However, she somehow seemed to annoy Sookie, as out of nowhere I felt her irritation spike and it was only me wrapping my arm around her that stopped her from attacking the female.

"He's mine, bitch!" she snarled, her fangs down.

The brunette looked alarmed and backed up a little, obviously hoping that Godric would protect her.

"Sookie?" Godric queried. "What is it?"

"Her. She was thinking about the time her and Eric were together before."

In truth, I didn't remember her as most of the fangbangers I'd been with tended to merge into one. But I needed to do a little damage control. I pulled at Sookie a little and led her into the kitchen before letting her go.

"She had such graphic thoughts, Eric. She'd seen you naked and she was desperate to be with you again."

This wasn't something I had anticipated, but considering her telepathy, I should have thought about her exposure to humans I'd had sex with before. Sure, a large number of them would have been glamoured to forget me, or at least the biting part. But there were still a large number of females that I had been with in both Shreveport and New Orleans.

She continued. "I'm normally better at blocking thoughts, but I don't need to with you and Godric, so my barriers were down." She sighed to herself. "I'm going to get this a lot, aren't I?"

There was no point lying or trying to make it sound any better. "Yes. But it's irrelevant. I'm not going to sleep with any other women. I only want you." To prove my point, I pushed her into the wall and ran my hands over her beautifully curvy body. The scent of her arousal registered and I leaned down to capture her lips with mine. "Only you, Sookie. I can't stop what they think, and you are going to meet both humans and vampires I have been with. But that doesn't change anything. I want you."

I rubbed myself against her and she kissed me back hard. I'd have happily carried her downstairs to my bedroom, but I was still aware that Godric was here, and we all needed to feed.

"Come on, let's do this."

I held out a hand to her and led her back into the living room. Godric had glamoured each of the humans who were sitting in different parts of the room. We followed Godric as he went up to the smaller of the males and sat beside him. I still had my arm around Sookie as we both watched Godric bite delicately into the neck of the human.

"You see how he does it? You have to be gentle, otherwise it will hurt the human. And bite around the jugular as otherwise the flow of blood will be too fast. You only tear into the jugular if you want to kill, so bite to the side." She was watching Godric intently as he fed, her own fangs still showing.

When Godric had taken his fill he gently licked the wounds closed but didn't seal them. That was a smart move on his part as we didn't know whether Sookie's blood would have the same healing properties as a vampire's, and we also didn't want humans to have any Fae blood.

"Do you want to go next, or shall I feed first."

She thought for a moment. "I'll try next."

Godric led her to the glamoured human female and brushed her hair out of the way to expose her neck. He gently talked her through it and calmly stroked her back as she bit smoothly into the human's neck.

But at almost the first taste she withdrew looking to spit the blood out. I handed her a Kleenex to dispose of the mouthful of blood. That answered the question, however.

"I'm sorry, but that tasted disgusting."

I looked to Godric who looked a little resigned that Sookie could only take vampire blood. "That's okay, we had to try."

"Are you going to feed now?" she looked to me.

I did just that, approaching the other human male in the room and biting swiftly into his neck. I generally preferred to feed from women, as not only did they taste better, but usually a feeding led to sex afterwards and I greatly preferred the female body. But that wasn't going to be an option if I was to keep my promise to Sookie, something I fully intended on doing unless I had not alternative, and I certainly wasn't going to have sex with anyone else.

But as I fed, I did get a feeling of lust rise in me. Although it came from the bond I shared with Sookie rather than my own lusting after the male in my arms. It seemed that Sookie was somewhat turned on by watching me feed.

The scent of her arousal was beginning to permeate the air, and I noticed that Godric subtly left the room with the other two humans. I could only imagine how hard that would have been for him considering she was his daughter.

I took another two deep mouthfuls before moving away from the human, sealing his wounds with a lick, then releasing Godric's glamour and dismissing the male.

I stood up and stalked over the Sookie, her fangs shining in her mouth as she watched me. "Did that turn you on, Sookie?" I purred into her ear. "Did you like watching me feed?"

She was mildly panting as her eyes met mine. "Yes."

"Did you like watching my teeth sink into his neck?"

"Yes."

I was slowly backing her into the wall, and I fully intended on picking her up and carrying her back downstairs to have my way with her.

But I sensed Godric's presence just outside the door, and I knew he wouldn't have interrupted unless something was up.

I stepped back from Sookie, much to her chagrin and addressed my maker. "Yes, Godric?"

"Pam called. Rasul has reported a spate of vampire attacks on humans in New Orleans, which is getting bad press with the human media. He is managing it, and the vampires in question have been detained."

But I needed to go and stamp my authority on the matter. Godric didn't need to tell me that part, and he was obviously protecting Sookie from knowing some of the more brutal elements of my role as King.

"Sookie, I must go." I placed a hand on the side of her face, but she smiled back at me.

"I know. Go and be the King of this fine state."

I let out a heavy breath. "Thank you for being understanding." I placed a kiss on her forehead. I turned to my maker. "Godric, if you are willing to, I would like to offer you a role within my kingdom. If you would take it, I would like to make you my lieutenant and adviser. I will be brining operations up to Shreveport, although it is likely I will still have to spend time in New Orleans, at least for the time being."

Godric nodded his head to me. "I would accept, Eric."

It was unusual for a maker to take a position of authority underneath his child, but then Godric and I didn't have a usual relationship and we'd always been both closer and more respectful then many maker/child combinations.

"Thank you. I will discuss specifics with you on my return. For now, I must fly."

Godric nodded to me and left Sookie and me alone.

"I'm okay, Eric," she said reassuringly, her warm hand placed on my chest. It amazed me that despite being half vampire, she had still retained her human warmth. "And there's plenty of time for us to get acquainted with each other in many ways." There was a distinct twinkle in her eye that let me to assume she was thinking along the same lines as me.

I pulled her close to me. "You have no idea how much I want you."

"I think I do," she said with a grin as she palmed my cock. It took all of my control to not say 'stuff it' to whatever was going on in New Orleans and take her anyway.

"You're not making this any easier." Her scent was filling my nose and saturating my pores. "But I must go."

"Will I see you tomorrow?"

"I certainly plan on it, but I will let you and Godric know what is happening."

"And you're going to send your bodyguard with me tomorrow?" Her tone had a sarcastic edge to it.

"Yes. I will call him and let you know when he'll be here. Please know that this is only for your own safety. And don't tell him who and what you are, it wouldn't be good for that to get out."

"I thought you trusted him?"

"There is no one I trust fully, not even Godric and Pam." My tone was serious, and I could see that Sookie was quite surprised at my confession.

"You can trust me."

I nodded. "And I want you to trust me as well. Please know that everything I do is for your own safety. I am not looking to cage you in."

.

**Sookie**

I believed that it was what Eric meant, but I was also aware that given the chance he would hide me from the world to protect me. I gave him a cheeky slap on the ass as he turned away from me and disappeared into the night. Out of nowhere Godric reappeared by my side.

"So what's with the sudden change of heart?" I asked my father as I followed him into the kitchen. I set about making myself a mug of hot chocolate while he observed me silently. He didn't answer until I'd turned back to him and had joined him at the table.

"It is not right for me to stand in your way if you wish to be with him. And this has made me think of your mother and her stubbornness. She was quite prepared to walk away from her father for me; I do not intend on letting you do the same thing."

"Thank you," I said with a smile.

He sighed. "Eric is also different. I suppose I realised that straight away when it came to you. But Eric has never shown any signs of becoming attached to a human before, I wasn't going to let him experiment with you."

"Is he?" I was suddenly uncertain of myself.

"No, I don't believe he is. Although it's taken him some time to recognise what he feels, and it will be a learning curve for him. And probably for you as well."

I smiled. "I don't doubt that." I took a large sip of my hot chocolate. "Eric said that you can sense my emotions?"

"To some extent. And I'll admit that it surprised me, but yes, as we share blood I can sense you in much the same way I can Eric. But I can only feel you when we are close like we are now, and I would not be able to track you in the way that Eric could."

"But … are you okay with Eric and me being … together."

I found this whole conversation awkward as I was sure that any twenty-something year old when talking sex with her father. And things were even worse when you considered that my father was over two thousand years old, and my would-be lover was his child, albeit via a different method.

He smiled. "I don't need to know the details of you and Eric being together. But I have always wanted what's best for him, and I do for you as well. But I will kill him if he hurts you."

That shocked me a little. "Okay … that's a little extreme. I don't expect you to do that. And I don't want you commanding him to be with me with things don't work out between us. We're both adults."

I got the distinct feeling that I'd probably hit the nail on the head with the whole 'commanding him to be with me' part.

"Godric … please let Eric and I do this on our own. Neither one of us is well versed in relationships, and we're going to make mistakes along the way. I don't want you staking Eric because we have some lovers' tiff."

He had a look of resignation on his face. "Fine. I will try not to act rashly."

"I want it to work, I like him. A lot. And we're kind of stuck together if he's the only one I can feed from."

"Just be aware, Sookie. Vampires are naturally possessive and domineering. He is not going to take well to you working or spending time with any other male, particularly ones of the Supe nature who may challenge him in his claim over you. He won't like it if you are attracted to other males any more than you'd like it if he fed from females or was attracted to them. And he will know. You may not have a more formal blood bond, but he can sense your emotions, and as your tie grows, that will only increase. Just be careful."

"I will do. I'm not going to go flirting with other men."

"I suggest you don't."

And like I would, anyway…

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><p>.<p>

**And would Sookie? Even innocently and accidentally?**

**What do you think? Comments? Questions? I'd love to know your thoughts.**

**Next chappy next weekend.**


	10. Chapter 10

**So sorry for post a day late – I had a busy weekend and had to go into work on Sunday when I'd normally be writing. But trust me; I don't plan on doing that again! Anyway, slightly longer than normal, so I hope you enjoy it.**

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><p><strong>Lux Æterna – Chapter 10<strong>

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><p>I woke up in Eric's large bed and rolled over to see that the alarm clock showed it was a little before eleven-thirty in the morning. I'd chosen to sleep in Eric's bed in his absence, partly so that Godric could take the bed in his own room, but mostly because it let me stay closer to Eric. I'd even gone as far as to sleep in one of his t-shirts and I made the most of my new and improved senses as I enjoyed his delicious scent.<p>

The vampire in question had called me just before dawn and we'd talked for ten minutes or so before daylight took him. He was in New Orleans having flown there and had apparently been in meetings with the human authorities and promised to address the problems with the vampires in the area. I assumed that the humans of New Orleans didn't realise that he was the King, and I wondered how much they knew about vampire society in general. I knew that I certainly didn't know anything beforehand, and I doubted it was common knowledge.

As I sat up in bed, I realised that I did feel fine despite the sun being well and truly up, and I didn't feel weak at all. To be honest, I didn't feel any different to how I was before the strange transition I went through, and I couldn't help but wonder if there were other things that had changed about me; things that necessarily weren't so vampiric.

I climbed out of the huge bed and went into Eric's equally over-sized shower, enjoying the multi-headed water assault it gave me and Eric's expensive toiletries from European brands I'd never heard of before. The man certainly had expensive taste and I didn't doubt that he was loaded. But then I could only imagine that you amassed a fair bit of wealth over one thousand years of existence.

After changing into a pair of dark blue jeans, red long-sleeve sweater and black ankle boots, I headed up the stairs to the top where the heavy door was and pulled out my phone. Eric had sent me a text message with the hugely long code to the door and given me strict instructions on what he wanted me to do. I got that he was concerned about me, but he was being incredibly overprotective.

But even without his advice, I was going to be wary. I was half-vampire and something major had happened to me the night before. And although I could manage okay with a UV light, it didn't mean that I was going to be able to tolerate daylight. But I really hoped that I would, as I wanted a normal life. I didn't want to be confined to underground lairs when I could be out enjoying the sunshine.

I cracked the door open a little at first, sticking my hand out. When I felt no adverse effects, I moved to stand outside, relieved that I didn't feel anything abnormal from the ambient light that was filtering into the library. The heavy drapes had been closed over the windows, presumably by Godric or Eric in case I was to burn, and I went up to the window and opened them wide.

I had never been so happy at nothing happening before in my life.

I smiled wildly as I stared out onto the lawn of Eric's large home and for the first time in a long time, I really appreciated the daylight. Of course, as it was December it was grey and overcast, but it still filled me with an unnatural joy: I was a half-breed vampire that could eat normal food and go out into the daylight. But I also seemed to have improved senses and I couldn't wait to find out about any other tricks up my sleeve.

I wasn't even that concerned by my telepathy and at least vampires were quiet to me. Well, except the brief glimpse into Eric's mind that I had, but then that had seemed to be a one-off.

With a smile plastered onto my face, I left the safety of the library and went to the kitchen where Eric had told me my bodyguard would be waiting for me.

And he certainly was.

The man in question was huge, probably a good six and half foot tall, which made him even taller than Eric, and he was large and evidently muscled judging on the tight black sweater he was wearing. And I had to admit that he was good looking. He had black curly hair, tanned skin and warm green eyes.

And if I hadn't met Eric Northman or had any of the events of recent days, I'd probably have fallen hard for him given the chance. But instead, I was slightly wary of him. Godric had told me of the general animosity between weres and vampires, and although werewolves were often employed by vampires, they weren't wholly trusted unless the vampire had some hold over them. I could only imagine that this was the case with this werewolf.

As I entered further into the kitchen, Alcide Herveaux turned to watch me, his eyes trained on me as he took in my appearance. And from his thoughts, he was obviously impressed with what he saw. I quickly built up the mental shield that I'd not needed much over the last few days, although I was surprised that I had been able to read him as easy as I did, as I'd never been able to get much of a reading from my shifter boss, Sam.

"Hi," I said with a small wave as I walked up to the counter to make myself a coffee.

He nodded to me. "You must be Sookie. Northman called me to say that I needed to be here to make sure you were safe. And you seem fine to me. What did he think was going to happen?"

I wasn't going to answer that question. "It's nothing much. He's just over-protective."

He seemed to buy that. "Still, I don't see why a nice girl like you is getting mixed up with vampires. And trust me; ones like Northman are not to be messed with." He was probably right there, and I simply shrugged in agreement. He moved a few paces closer to me. "And rumour has it that his maker has left his role in Texas and moved here as well. And believe me, that vampire is very old and can be incredibly lethal."

I was a little taken aback by Alcide's description of my father. But then, I'd always seen him as a gentle being who looked no older than a teenage boy. But I was aware that he'd shown dominance over Eric, and I could only imagine that after living for over two thousand years, one would have to be lethal.

I also wasn't sure that Alcide should be telling me that amount of information. Godric had told me that humans, in general, didn't know much about vampires, and even the ones that tended to sleep with them. So this werewolf spilling the beans about Eric and Godric didn't seem right to me. It only made me trust him even less, and I wondered whether I should report back to Eric.

"Coffee?" I asked him, ignoring what he'd said.

"Yeah, sure," he answered. I could still feel his eyes on me as I made the drinks and handed him a mug. "So you're not one of the normal ones then."

"I'm sorry?"

He shrugged. "You're not just one for food and fucking."

"One what?" I couldn't help but feel offended at where this was going.

"Fangbanger."

"I'm not a fangbanger," I snapped back at him before I could stop myself. In truth, I should have known that would have been his assumption, and I probably should have played along with it.

He let out a humourless laugh. "What, you're trying to tell me that you're Northman's girlfriend or something?" He didn't give me time to respond before he carried on talking. "That vampire doesn't do girlfriends. Well, unless you're talking about other people's girlfriends." I got the distinct impression he was talking from experience.

I took a deep breath to calm myself. I wasn't normally this bad tempered, but I had a real urge to sock him one. I couldn't help but wonder whether it was another symptom of the change that had happened to me, and it would certainly make sense considering that vampires were known to be violent at times. And not to mention the fact that I knew very little about my Fae lineage and how that was going to affect me either.

"As I said, I'm not a fangbanger."

Alcide backed up a little with his hands up in the air, my feelings of violence obviously clear on my face. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to offend you."

"That's okay," I said, my southern hospitality kicking back in as I calmed myself. "How about we start again and don't make assumptions about each other."

He relaxed and smiled a little, holding out his hand for me to shake. "I can do that. It's nice to meet you Sookie."

I leaned in and took his large, warm hand. "And you, Alcide. And for the record, I know that you're a werewolf."

He looked surprised. "Northman _must_ trust you; it isn't a known fact that we even exist to the general population, so I'm assuming now that you must be something special for him to give you that information."

I shrugged and smiled, choosing to sip my coffee rather than justify him with an answer. "So what did you do to get the babysitting role?"

He sighed and ran his hand through his curly black hair. "My father had a gambling addiction and he got into debt with the wrong people."

"Vampires?" I asked.

"No, humans actually. They can be just as brutal as any of the supernatural breeds. If not worse." He probably had a point there considering the recent rise of the so called 'church' the Fellowship of the Sun. "My father went to Northman for a loan to pay off his debtors, and when he died a few years ago that loan passed onto me."

"Shit."

He shrugged. "Northman knew what he was doing, and probably counted on the loan passing to me as I was undoubtedly more useful to him than my father, considering he also had an alcohol addiction. In truth, he may be king, but there are a damned site worse vampires out there than Northman. He's ruthless certainly, but as long as you don't piss him off he's not too unreasonable." He paused and looked at me for a moment. "Still, I'm not sure that this is the right place for you. You seem like a nice, normal girl and you say that you're not a fangbanger. If you want help in getting away from him…"

I guess I could appreciate the gesture. "I'm fine, really. I know what I've let myself in for."

I stared out of the kitchen into the daylight of the garden and had a sudden urge to go outside. I did just that, wrapping my arms around me against the cold outside as I stepped out onto the patio. I smiled to myself that I still had the luxury of daylight, but couldn't help but feel a little bad that it was something Godric and Eric didn't have.

"So, are you babysitting me all day?" I asked Alcide as he came outside with me.

"I'm under strict instructions to not let you out of my sight. Oh, and Northman also told me to give you this. It was on the kitchen table when I got here."

It was an envelope with a brief letter inside and a black American Express card with my name on it. I was going to be having serious words with Mr Northman over this.

"Wow – is that what I think it is? Shit, Northman is looking after you."

I huffed to myself; not wanting Alcide to see how pissed off with Eric I was at his assuming I wanted his money. But on the other hand it was a very kind gesture and I supposed I appreciated his generosity.

"Do you want to go shopping?" Alcide asked me when I hadn't responded to him.

"Yeah, but for food rather than clothes or anything." Eric's house had been stocked with some food basics, but I was hungry for something a little more substantial, and a nice steak was top of my menu.

After grabbing my coat and purse, and slipping the black card inside my wallet, I climbed into Alcide's SUV.

"Nice wheels," I commented, as he drove out of Eric's heavily guarded and remote home on the outskirts of the city.

"Not mine," he shrugged. "Northman left instruction for me to drive this one if I was taking you anywhere. It's got armour plating and bullet-proof windows."

Okay, I was going to stake him now.

After I managed to quell my anger at Eric's over-protective nature I started to chat to Alcide about normal things such as TV shows we both liked, music, movies … He seemed like a normal guy, although at times I still had a sense of unease about him. I'd always trusted my instincts before, and it had, in the past, turned out to my favour. So I wasn't going to let myself get too close to him, even though I was sure in different circumstances I probably could have.

"So … do you have a girlfriend or wife, Alcide?"

I had my mental shields down and I peeked into his mind as he thought about a somewhat crazy looking female. "No. I split up from my last girl a few months back. We'd been on and off again like a light-switch, but this time it's for good."

"Is she a were?"

He nodded. "Yes. She lives in Jackson, Mississippi, which is where I lived before Northman started to call on me to work for him. In truth, I think he's done me a favour by getting me out of Jackson. The relationship with Debbie was destructive to both of us."

I fell into silence as he continued to think of her, but I got the distinct impression that he hoped today we'd be seen out together and that that information would get back to her. He hoped she'd be jealous that he'd moved on, as from his thoughts I could see that she evidently had done.

He pulled up to the store and I grabbed a shopping cart so that I could pick up some of the essentials (and luxuries) that Eric's kitchen lacked. But as I thought about it, I realised that I was thinking I would be staying at his house. And strangely, that thought didn't scare me or make me go running fast in the direction of Bon Temps.

Instead, I smiled to myself as I picked up various groceries and store cupboard essentials. I still wondered how the hell I was going to explain all this to Gran. Should we come clean and just tell her the truth? She'd always been an open minded old lady, and the fact was that she'd had an affair with a half-fairy many years earlier, so obviously knew something of the supernatural world. But would she accept that I wasn't really her granddaughter? I supposed that with Eric's ability to glamour her, we could always tell her and see how things went. If she didn't take to the idea well, he could erase her memory and we could start again.

But I'd still have to tell her about Eric. Whatever that was.

I knew that I wanted to take things further with him, and that he was certainly _up_ for it, had been demonstrated on the few occasions I was close up to him. And that was flattering, certainly. A man, or vampire, like Eric wanting me was flattering to say the least. But I still wondered where this was going – was he really willing to give up all the females for me?

I supposed that maybe Eric and I needed to talk more, but his moving to Shreveport from New Orleans was certainly a sign that he wanted to be with me.

Alcide came up behind me and distracted me from my thoughts of Eric. "We need to leave quickly."

"What?"

"There are humans outside; they're planning on raiding this place."

I listened carefully into both the minds and thoughts of the three men outside. They were well armed and fully planning on attacking the building.

"We need to get out the back. I have to get you away from here." Alcide was calm in the situation, but I could sense that he was on a knife-edge.

"We need to alert the staff," I told him, not willing to do nothing. "Someone could get killed."

Alcide glared at me. "No. I am not going to get my ass handed to me by Northman because you are being stupid and stubborn. We are leaving right now."

"I can't do nothing." I protested as he started to manhandle me towards the exit of the store. "I can't live with myself if I do nothing." I was almost yelling at him, but despite being half-vampire he was able to drag me towards the back of the store. "Get off me!"

I fought against him hard, pulling back in the direction of the store. "No Sookie, we must leave."

I knew that he was right to some extent, but the men at the front were about to storm in all guns blazing, and lives were going to be lost if I didn't do something.

"At least let me hit the fire alarm." It was the least I could do.

"Fine," he relented, covering me as I ran up to the red fire alarm and broke the glass to try to give the staff and customers of the store some warning.

Once I had done, he grabbed me around the waist and we ran quickly to the fire exit at the back of the store. But what we hadn't realised was that there was one more armed assailant waiting there, and as I was in front of Alcide, I was the one in the firing line.

Luckily, we'd managed to catch the man off guard, which gave us the element of surprise, but he quickly recovered himself.

"Don't move," he hissed at us both, his gun drawn. Alcide tried to move in front of me, but the man was having none of it. "I said, don't move."

We both froze in our positions, Alcide with his arm around my midriff. I tried desperately to relax myself and then stared into his eyes. I slipped into his mind to reveal that he was called Michael, and was fresh out of prison having done a spell for armed robbery. Him and his friends had a tip-off to say that this store carried a large quantity of cash, and six of them in total were staking out the area. They were cocky and confident that despite the daylight hours they'd get away with it, and they had their escape route planned.

"Put the gun down, Michael," I said in a surprisingly calm voice. And when he did just that I struggled to hide my surprise. But more than that, I realised that I had some kind of control over him, and the closest thing I could think of was that I'd glamoured him.

My increased senses caught the noise of sirens on the wind, and I assumed that as well as the fire alarm going off, the staff had managed to hit some kind of panic button that alerted the police.

Michael dropped the gun to the floor and stepped back from us. Alcide tried to move in front of me, but I kept him where he was with a nudge.

"You're going to hand yourself into the police when they arrive, and you're going to tell them everything. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

With his hands up in the air in the surrender pose, he started to walk around the building to the front of the store just as both the police and fire engine turned up. We stood still watching him walk away until Alcide turned to me.

"What the hell did you just do to him?"

In truth, I didn't know. "No idea."

He let out a low whistle. "It was as if you glamoured him or something. Tell me you're not high on vampire blood!"

"I'm not," I said. But it was true to some extent and I didn't think it was because of the blood I'd had of Eric's. This was due to my own blood.

"Shit," Alcide said as he stiffened, "someone's coming."

He tried to hustle me away, but whoever it was was coming was fast and saw us. He also seemingly recognised Alcide.

"Herveaux! Stop right there."

We stopped where we were and allowed the police officer to come up to us. A quick scan of his mind told me that he was also a were and knew Alcide well as they belonged to the same pack.

"Turnbull," Alcide greeted with a nod. His arm was still wrapped around my waist, and when I tried to move away from him, he held me firmly in place.

"What are you doing here?"

"We were inside the store when I heard the men outside planning to raid the place. We left out the back door and set the fire alarm."

The cop narrowed his eyes briefly before seeming to relax. From his mind I could tell he believed the story, but he was suspicious of what I was doing with Alcide.

"What's with the girl?"

"This is Sookie. I'm on vampire business."

That obviously meant something to the other were as he nodded to Alcide. I again struggled against his hold, and this time he let me go.

"I'm going to have to take you both in to give statements, but I'll make this easy for you." He was obviously referring to the fact that a normal human wouldn't have been able to hear the men outside, so the story would be adjusted accordingly.

"Fine, but we have to be back by nightfall or Northman will get antsy."

"Northman? Shit. She seems like such a sweet girl." The cop was leering at me, his mind full of depraved thoughts and I quickly put up my barriers to him.

"I am able to speak for myself, asshole," I snapped at him.

He just grinned. "She's a fiery one, ain't she?

I gave him a glare as he led Alcide and I back around the front of the store, and we were taken to the station to give our statements. The whole process was exhaustive and mentally straining, but I did learn that my shields were much improved since my transition, and luckily blanking out all the other humans and a few Supes of the police station wasn't as hard as I expected it to be.

I'd sent a quick text to Godric to let him know what had happened, and unsurprisingly around an hour before sundown I had a text back from him telling me to get back as soon as I could

It was just turning dark when Alcide and I arrived at Eric's large home. He led me inside and I went to the kitchen to make us both a well-deserved mug of coffee along with a few slices of toast since the shopping I'd hoped to get had been abandoned in the store.

"Sookie?"

I turned to see Godric standing in the doorway to the kitchen. His face was hard and despite saying my name, his eyes were firmly fixed on Alcide.

"Hey, Godric," I said with a smile. But he didn't smile back.

"You can leave now, wolf."

Alcide looked from Godric to me and back again. "Sookie, are you sure you want to be left alone with him?"

Godric growled a low warning to Alcide. "Leave now."

I'd never seen Godric like this before, and quite simply despite the size difference between Godric and the wolf, it was Godric that seemed completely in control and not to mention dangerous as hell. He was exuding a cool calm threat, but I didn't doubt that he would snap at any point.

"Alcide, I'm fine, really. Thanks for looking out for me today."

Alcide didn't move, which proved he was either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid. "Northman was the one who asked me here, I follow his orders."

"And I am both his maker and a lieutenant of this state. If you do not leave now, I will rip you to pieces with my bare hands." Godric gave a vicious smile. "And I will look forward to it."

Alcide still didn't make any attempt to move, and I was envisioning a blood bath. "Not without Northman's say so."

"You have it. Go."

I turned around to see Eric stride into the kitchen. He was wearing a pair of black leather pants and a tight black t-shirt that made my core temperature rise a few degrees. His presence was also filling the room, and him and Godric only seemed to feed off each other.

This time Alcide obviously realised it would be best for him to go, and he left without further word.

"Hey Eric," I said taking a step towards him. "I didn't expect to see you this evening."

His blue eyes were hard and his fangs were showing, which quite simply stopped me in my tracks.

"You stink of wolf," he growled as he stalked two long paces closer to me, his nose coming to my neck. "And more than one of them. What the fuck happened today?"

I swallowed nervously. "We were in the store when Alcide heard some men outside planning on raiding the building. We escaped out the back, but there was a man with a gun there." I was interrupted by a growl coming from both vampires. I kept going, however. "I don't know how, but I think I glamoured him into leaving us alone. We were trying to get away when a were-cop Alcide knew saw us. We had to go to the station to give statements."

I stopped and looked between the two vampires. Neither one of them relaxed, but it was Godric that spoke up.

"I think this has proven that you need to always have a guard with you. You seem to be a magnet for trouble."

"Godric, it was a random and unlucky event. It has nothing to do with me being a half-vampire or whatever, and it could have happened to anyone. In fact, I probably made things better by being there as we were able to warn the staff. Who knows what would have happened otherwise."

"I do not care for other people," Eric growled, his cool breath hitting my neck as he was standing so close to me.

The air in the room suddenly seemed charged and I was sure that I could almost feel the energy pulsating from Eric's body.

Godric moved to stand in front of me. "I must go, Sookie. I have business to do tonight. I hope to see you again before sundown."

"Okay, see you later."

He smiled at me, nodded to Eric and then speedily left the room. But the intensity rolling off Eric didn't relax any.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, taking a step back so I could look into his eyes.

"I do not like that you were in danger." He was still almost growling his words.

"I was fine," I said reassuringly.

"You had a human pointing a gun at you."

"And I glamoured him!" I shot back exasperated.

"You didn't know you could do that before it happened."

"And I'll know for future. Eric, stop with the overprotective shit. I am my own woman not some weak and feeble damsel in distress."

He let out a frustrated sigh. "You are too stubborn for your own good, do you know that? But I am not going to let harm come to you."

I took a few deep breaths while deep in thought. "You care for me." It wasn't a question.

"Yes. And more than I care to admit." He closed the distance between us again. "And right now, you need to shower. You smell like wet dog."

As quick as a flash he'd picked me up, thrown me over his shoulder and was running at full speed towards his underground bedroom. He barely even seemed to stop to enter the codes, and before I knew it, he'd deposited me in the middle of the large bathroom and had turned on the large shower.

"Take off your clothes," he growled deeply, in a sound that went straight to my core.

I swallowed thickly staring up into his intensely blue eyes. His expression was one of seriousness, but also lust. Something I was feeling in spades myself.

I did as he asked, pulling off my sweater, before taking off my boots. I met his eyes as I slowly peeled of my jeans so that I was in a bra and panties only. It made me glad I'd thought to put on a decent set.

"All of them," he hissed, a strain present in his voice.

His fangs were fully elongated and he was almost panting despite not needing to breath. And his eyes were firmly fixed on my body, although taking me all in rather than any one particular part.

"Now, Sookie," he ordered.

I slowly removed my remaining clothes and stood before Eric completely naked. It was the first time that I'd ever been naked in front of a man, but the look on Eric's face just made me feel worshipped and sexy rather than embarrassed.

He took a large step closer to me and my hands moved up to his firm chest. I couldn't stop myself from fisting his t-shirt in my hands as I stared up into his eyes, and I badly wanted the t-shirt gone. Along with the rest of his clothes.

And it seemed my wish was granted when he tore the t-shirt off his body and threw the shredded remains behind him.

"Sookie, get into the shower. I cannot stand you smelling of wolf."

"I thought I taught you to say 'please'," I was aware that I was playing with fire, but there was no need for Eric to be rude.

"Sookie," he growled.

"Ask nicely."

"_Please_ get into the shower." He managed to make the word sound sexy as hell, and I gladly complied with his request, putting on a show for him as I dipped my head under the water to wet my hair.

"Are you going to join me?" I asked in as seductive a voice as I could muster.

I was aware that I had no idea what I was doing. I'd never in my life seduced a man, let alone a thousand year old vampire who had been with countless women before. But I'd read more than my fair share of romance novels, so I knew the basics, and Eric proved that he was no different to any other male.

He kicked off his boots before slowly and carefully undoing his leather pants. As soon as the zip fly was undone his erection sprang free, and I could not keep my eyes off it. It was huge, enormous, in fact. I'd barely even noticed that he'd taken his pants off until he stepped closer to me and lifted my chin with a lone finger so that I met his eyes.

Rather than saying anything, he simply picked up the bottle of shower gel from the wire rack and lathered up his large hands. And instead of washing himself, he started to wash me, staring with my hands and arms, and then down to my legs before starting on my upper body. And boy did he pay attention to certain areas. I must have had the cleanest breasts in Louisiana by the time he was done, but it felt so good to have his hands on me.

He then, and without a word, picked up the shampoo and started to wash my hair, massaging deeply into my skull as he did so, and giving me a delicious head massage when he conditioned my hair. It was incredibly relaxing and put me at ease, but at the same time it was erotic as hell. And it wasn't just the water from the shower that was making me wet down below.

"Can I wash you?" I asked in a small voice when he'd finished with me.

He gave me an appraising look that I didn't understand before smiling slightly and nodding his head. I repeated his movements, starting with his arms and muscled shoulders before moving down to his strong and thick legs. I then moved up to his torso, and started to wash him with my hands, using extra soap as I circled him and placed my hands on his delicious ass.

When I moved to stand in front of him once more, there was only one part of him I hadn't touched.

"May I?"

He swallowed hard. "Please."

I gently took him in my hands, and his hips thrust hard while he was within my grip. He really was large, and much bigger than I had thought he would be. And that just led to a shock of fear coursing through me at the thought of him penetrating my body.

"I will not hurt you, Sookie," he said gently having obviously felt my mood shift. "And I am not going to take you right now, no matter how much I want to."

He leaned down and captured my lips in a kiss as I continued to gently stroke him. I was amazed at how velvety soft the skin was, but it was like rubbing it over solid iron. Eric moaned into my mouth as he gently thrust into my hands before moving my hands away and pushing me against the cold tile wall.

The contrast in temperature was delicious, as was the huge vampire in front of me. He held both my hands above me in one of his while dragging the other one down the side of my face, down my neck and to the side of my breast. If I hadn't watched his finger go down there, I'd have sworn that he was burning me somehow.

"I want you, Sookie. More than I have wanted anything. And I'm sorry that I have rushed you into the shower, but I hated smelling that mutt on your skin. You are mine, Sookie. Only mine."

The thrust his hips against me with a deep growl, and I cried out with pleasure as he rubbed against my clit. I realised that my own fangs felt long in my mouth, and I ran my tongue over the tips of them.

And cutting my tongue on the point of one of them wasn't entirely accidental. Or at all.

"Sookie," he groaned as he pulled me into a hard kiss, his tongue searching out all of the blood in my mouth and swallowing in greedily. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes," I moaned as I clawed at him. And where I hadn't been that hungry before my shower, now I was ravenous and Eric was the only thing I desired.

"Feed from me, Sookie. And will you let me drink from you at the same time?"

I nodded, being unable to find the words as I focused on the sweet spot of Eric's neck where I wanted to bit him.

"Bite me, Sookie. _Please_."

As he'd asked so nicely I did just that. He'd lowered his body so that it was easier to reach him, and moaned in pleasure as my fangs sank into his neck. I took a deep and greedy mouthful of his delicious blood, and when Eric sank his fangs into my shoulder, I shuddered with intense desire.

The feeling of the two of us feeding from each other was incredible, and I could feel one hell of an orgasm growing inside me. Eric obviously felt it too as he moved one hand to rub my clit while he thrusted against me in search of his own release.

And almost too soon, we both found that release.

It was almost mind-blowing as I came hard and sank into Eric's arms when my legs gave up on me. I licked the blood from my lips and stared up at Eric who was doing the same thing.

"Thank you," I whispered to him.

"My pleasure," he purred. He carried me out of the shower and placed me on the counter. "Are you okay?"

"Fine."

"Sure?"

I breathed out deeply. "More than sure. That was incredible."

He gave me a bright smile, which quickly turned into a smirk. "Sookie, you haven't had anything yet."

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><p><strong>So a little mini lemon at the end there. And in a shower.<strong>

**But what now? Does Alcide know too much? Can Sookie glamour humans like a full vampire? Will Eric show Sookie what she's been missing out on?**

**I'd love to know your thoughts.**


	11. Chapter 11

**So again, sorry for the late posting. Things have been a bit hectic with Christmas and all.**

**Warning: lemony chapter ahead!**

**I hope you enjoy.**

**.**

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><p><strong>Lux Æterna – Chapter 11<strong>

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><p>"<em>Sookie, you haven't had anything yet."<em>

I didn't know whether it was a threat or a promise, but either way I was up for it.

"Oh really?"

He positively smouldered at me as he pulled me close to him. "Yes."

He moved his head to my neck and rang his fangs along my throat to the top of my shoulder. I could feel the slight sting and didn't doubt that there was probably a pink line on my skin where his fangs marked me, but it was making me melt inside.

"I didn't expect you here tonight," I told him as he pulled away slightly and met my eyes.

"I wanted to see you. There are things we need to discuss and I didn't want it to wait. And it seems like I made a good choice."

He was obviously still annoyed about what had happened at the store. "You know that couldn't have been predicted right?"

"You're a trouble magnet," he said with a sigh.

I shrugged and smiled. "My Gran always said that." I paused for a moment. "Could that really be because of my parentage?"

"It's possible. I don't have all the answers, but you can never know what external forces are at play."

I placed a hand on his face. "I know you want to protect me, but I don't want to be wrapped in cotton wool and hidden from the world."

"I'd prefer you safe and in my bed," he interrupted.

I smiled. "I'm sure you would, and I'm not saying that I'm not going to spend any time there." I paused and took a deep breath. "But I don't want to be smothered. And I want to go home and go back to work."

He sighed. "That was one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. Come on; let's go somewhere a bit more comfortable."

Rather than letting me walk back into the bedroom, he picked me up, carried me bridal style into the bedroom and placed me gently on the bed after pushing back the covers for me. He climbed into bed next to me and pulled me close to him so that I was snuggling up to his side. And I have to admit that I didn't have him for a snuggler, but I wasn't going to complain.

"How did you get back?" I asked.

"I was safely tucked into my coffin which was moved during the day."

I wasn't too sure I liked the idea of Eric in a coffin and being moved during the daylight. Not only did it remind me that technically he was dead (in the non-heart beating sense of the word), but he also seemed incredibly vulnerable during that time.

"Is it safe for you?"

He smiled at my concern for him. "It's not something I do often, but I wanted to today. I like that you worry for me too."

"You don't get the monopoly on that."

"Sookie, I have been alive, or undead, for over a thousand years. Believe me when I say that I'm more than careful as I have no interest in ending things now."

"Good."

He growled deep in his chest and pulled me on top of him, his arms wrapped tightly around me. "Sookie Stackhouse … you do things to me that I never anticipated."

I pulled back from his chest to meet his eyes. "Such as?"

He didn't answer me immediately, and took his time thinking of the right answer. "I knew of the love my maker had for your mother, but I could never understand why he would tie himself to one human woman. And I'll admit that I fought my attraction to you; I assumed it was purely sexual. But it isn't." He paused and ran his hand through his hair. "You make me want to hide you from the world and protect you. I have never had these feelings before; this is new to me. I can't stand the thought of you being hurt, and I'm severely regretting let Herveaux anywhere near you."

"He's a nice enough guy, but there's definitely something I don't trust about him."

Eric seemed to relax marginally. "Good. Because you shouldn't. Vampires and werewolves have a natural distrust of each other. And you're an attractive and beautiful woman. There is no way that he wouldn't be fascinated by you."

I smiled a little and gave a shrug. "He split from his girlfriend a few months back. I saw her in his mind; she looked feral. She apparently lives in Jackson, Mississippi, and he was hoping that I'd be seen with him and word would get back to her that he'd moved on." Eric growled deep within his chest. "Not that I gave anyone any means for that."

"But you did see another werewolf. And knowing how the wolves work, it wouldn't surprise me if Herveaux's crazy ex-girlfriend did hear of him being seen with another woman. And that concerns me. I don't like that you could be the target of her vengeance."

I sat up slightly to meet his eyes full on. "Eric … you don't have to be concerned about that! She isn't going to come after me, and there certainly isn't anything between Alcide and me."

He breathed in deeply. "Correct. But I am not taking any risks. Herveaux was a poor choice on my part, and one I will not be making again."

"He pretty much saved my life today."

"Irrelevant. I will find someone else to guard you."

"I don't need guarding."

I rolled of off his chest and turned away from him. He placed a hand on my shoulder and gently turned me to face him once more. The look on his face was tender but complicated.

"Sook, I can't stand the thought of you being hurt. And I know that I can't keep you here forever. I'll say it once more that you don't need to work as I can provide for you, but I know that you won't accept that from me. But think about the other things you wanted to do that didn't involve working for the Shifter. Money is no longer an issue for you and your family. I will give you anything you need, and that includes paying for further education for you if you wish it. Please consider this, Sookie."

He had a point. I was tired of working at Merlotte's, and I wasn't really sure I wanted to go back when things had changed so drastically over the last few days.

"What are you thinking?" Eric asked after five minutes or so of silence.

"I'm thinking that I may speak to Sam about stopping working at Merlotte's. But I don't want to leave him in the lurch without any staff."

Eric smiled a genuine smile. "If necessary, I will have Pam send over one of the waitresses from Fangtasia to cover for you."

"I bet you would," I said with a smile as I cuddled back into his side. He wrapped his arm around me once more and I laid my head on his chest. "You mentioned earlier that you wanted to talk to me about something?"

Eric sighed and moved so that he was sitting up more against the headrest of the bed. "Yes. It seems that although we glamoured your Gran into believing you were safe, your Shifter boss has taken it upon himself to tell whoever is listening that you've been abducted by me. And it appears that your brother has believed him and is intent on finding you."

I sat up straight. "What? I am going to kill Sam!" I yelled.

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm glad we're thinking along the same lines."

I glared at him. "I was speaking figuratively."

"I wasn't."

"I kinda assumed that. And I don't want you to hurt Sam, he's my friend and I'm sure he has his reasons."

Eric gave me a sceptical look. "Fine. For now."

I sighed to myself. "So what do we do?"

He seemed to appreciate that I'd said 'we' rather than indicating just me. "I think it would be best for me to return you to your home. And I will have a few words with the shifter."

"Maybe it would be best if we both went to Merlotte's. And I've been thinking it may be best to tell Gran the truth."

He nodded in agreement. "That could be wise."

"How did you hear of this?"

Eric rolled his eyes. "The idiot Merlotte reported you missing to the local police and indicated that I was to blame. It was Compton that picked up on this, and quite wisely glamoured the police into dismissing the reports. He reported this to me last night. It was one of the reasons I wanted to come back early."

"And the other was to enjoy some time with me?"

He gave me a sultry look. "Definitely."

He ran his large hands over me and I relaxed into touch. Although at the same time, I found my body overheating from the sensuality of him touching my bare skin.

"You are so beautiful, Sookie," he growled. He pushed me back onto the bed and hovered over me. And I mean literally hovered, as in no part of him was touching me or the bed.

"Show off," I chastised teasingly.

"It's a skill I've learnt over the years," he said with a smug smile as he slowly lowered himself down on top of me. His weight was delicious and I felt very secure being underneath him. And horny as hell. "I can smell how much you want me, Sookie. May I taste you?"

"Sure," I was more than happy for him to bite me again. But it seemed that wasn't what Eric had on his mind. He instead started to kiss me, starting with my lips but then moving further down my body, focusing on my neck and then my breasts. His hands were also going on an adventure of their own, rubbing my skin and pinching my nipples.

He went down each of my legs in turn, ignoring the area where I was desperate for him to touch me. I moaned his name in frustration as he started to nuzzle the inside of my thigh, and I felt my new fangs slide fully into place within my mouth.

"There is the most delicious vein to bite right here," he said as he licked along the inside of my thigh. "I look forward to biting you there, Sookie." He leaned back a little and looked unashamedly at the area between my legs.

A sudden nervousness passed over me, and I was reminded all too well that no other man had ever been in that position before, let alone one as drop-dead (pun intended) gorgeous as the vampire between my legs. When I tried to close my legs, he gently held me in place and met my eyes.

"I am the first one here?"

I nodded, unable to find my voice.

He smiled. "Well I am grateful for that, and would like greatly if you would let me show you what you have been missing out on."

I swallowed nervously. "Eric, you're so experienced … I worry that I won't measure up."

A serious expression came onto his face. "Sookie, I can assure you that you will. You are beautiful. All of you. Your scent in like no other; please, let me look after you."

"Sure," I said with an attempted smile. I was suddenly feeling very anxious at the thought of Eric entering me, but I knew I was in safe hands.

"It doesn't matter that you have no experience, you will not let me down at all. And this is different for me as well."

"How so?" I breathed, aware of how close Eric's lips were to my skin.

He didn't answer for a moment, and I wondered quite what was on his mind. "I have never been with any woman who has meant as much to me as you do. It changes things."

I didn't know what to say, so I remained silent. Eric placed a few more kisses on my inner thigh before looking back up at me.

"Relax, Sookie. I will not hurt you."

I let out a gently laugh. "No offence, Eric, but you're huge."

He flashed me a toothy grin. "You say all the right things," he teased. "But don't worry, I'll be gentle."

With that, there was no more talk from him. His hands ran paths over my skin, while he gently placed kisses on my lower stomach and thighs. Once I was beginning to relax he gently stroked over the sensitive skin of my sex with one finger, and I almost leapt off the bed from the sensation.

Eric chuckled to himself in a low and deep tone, but didn't stop with the glorious torture. In fact, he added to it when he began to gently tongue my clit and insert one of his fingers into my opening.

"You taste delicious," he told me as he worked me, and not before long he brought me to the second orgasm of the night. And it wasn't it as if they were my first orgasms, as at twenty-five and still a virgin I was beyond frustrated at times. But the one Eric had just brought me to was by far the best of my existence.

And I was hoping that things were only going to get better.

While his mouth and tongue had been at work, he'd been working one and then two fingers inside me, stretching me no doubt in preparation for him entering me later.

"Sookie, I can feel your hymen with my fingers, will you let me push through it now … it won't hurt so much later then, and I can heal you with my blood."

"Yes … please."

I began to feel a little nervous again, but the sharp pain of my hymen breaking caught me off guard. Eric quickly bit into his finger and I could feel him gently rubbing his blood into the wound. The relief was almost immediate.

"Thank you," I said, but Eric seemed more interesting in licking his fingers clean. I assumed that the blood on his fingers was both mine and his own, and he seemed to be enjoying the combined taste.

"You're delicious," he growled as he met my eyes. His eyes were a darker blue than normal, and his pupils seemed dilated. He moved quickly so that he was lying flush against me and pinning me to the bed. He kissed me hard and I could taste myself on his lips, which wasn't the unpleasant sensation I had always imagined it to be.

I grabbed at him with equal fervour, fisting one of my hands into his hair to hold him in place while the other one clawed at his back. I moaned into his mouth as he rubbed himself against my already tender clit, and he took the opportunity to resume kissing down my neck.

"Sookie?" he asked with a question in his eyes.

And I knew exactly what that question was.

"Yes. I want you to. Please."

He nodded, placing a tender kiss on my lips. "I'm going to go as gently as I can, and I've prepared you, but this may be a little uncomfortable at first." I swallowed thickly. "Just relax for me, lover, and I assure you that you'll enjoy this."

I was quite certain of that myself, and I let Eric take control as he moved me to the right position. He started kissing me gently and whispering words of encouragement as he entered me. I froze at the initial penetration, and as did he, but as soon as I relaxed, he started to slowly move in deeper.

It did hurt, I couldn't deny that. And it was a sensation I wasn't used to feeling. But with Eric on top and reassuring me, I opened my legs wider to allow him to slide further into me. Once in a few inches, he gently pulled out so that only the tip of him was inside me, and then pushed slowly back in, further this time.

The sensation was delicious, and I felt myself relaxing as he repeated his movements, all the time moving further inside me.

"Are you okay?" he whispered to me, placing loving kisses on my neck while his hair tickled my skin.

"Yeah," I panted, "I'm doing good."

"I'm all the way in," he told me gently, stroking my cheek. "And you feel incredible; so tight and warm. I'm going to carry on moving, but stop me if you need me to."

I nodded as he started to move on top of me. The sensation was strange at first, but within moments, I was seriously starting to enjoy myself. I couldn't keep the moans inside as Eric thrusted slowly inside me, and my hands moved to his back in an attempt to urge him on.

"More," I moaned into his ear, something Eric seemed more than happy to provide me with.

I could feel an incredibly pleasant sensation building inside me, and before not too long I exploded into an orgasm, Eric somehow managing to hit all the right spots inside me. My orgasm seemingly triggered his as he shouted loudly in a language I didn't understand as I felt him still and then swell inside me.

"Fuck," he whispered as he relaxed on top of me, his weight partly on me, but welcome all the same. "Are you okay?"

I smiled widely. "I'm better than okay, Eric. That was great. Truly."

Eric rolled off me and laid on his side to face me. "You are not in any pain?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm not. It hurt at first, but I soon overcame that." I sighed contentedly. "I think I finally understand why people think so much about sex."

Eric smiled. "I look forward to teaching you a few tricks I know." He was positively smouldering and leaned in to kiss me.

I laid in his arms for around twenty minutes before I moved to face him. "I guess we should shower again if we're going to head to Bon Temps."

He narrowed his eyes briefly, and there was a distinct look of mischief on his face. "I'm thinking not. We've already showered once, we don't need to again."

I raised an eyebrow. "Any reason for that?"

He shrugged. "Saving the planet, and all."

I didn't believe him at all. "Really. So nothing to do with that fact that I probably smell like you right now?"

"So you do."

I rolled my eyes. "You're an appalling liar."

"Not normally; I lie very well when I have to." He leaned down to kiss me before his expression became more serious. "And I don't want to lie to you. I may not tell you everything, but I will not lie to you. I promise you that."

I nodded. "Fine, but let's go soon or it'll be too late to see Gran. I take it you want to head to Merlotte's first?"

"I do. And I'll let Godric know where we are headed as well as what I have learned. He may want to join us at the shifter's bar."

I begrudgingly climbed out of bed and went into the bathroom to have a few human moments. When I returned Eric was already dressed in what appeared to be his uniform: a pair of dark blue jeans and black t-shirt that clung to his chest. He looked delicious, and I felt a spike of lust fire within me.

Eric's eyes darkened. "Sookie, don't go getting all lusty when you're standing in front of me completely naked. There is only so much control I possess, and right now I am on the edge of it."

I gave him a coy smile as I went to grab some underwear along with a knee-length dark blue skirt and black long-sleeved top. It was only when I'd dressed myself that I noticed I'd picked something very similar to what Eric was wearing. I pulled on my boots and walked up to him, pulling him down into a kiss.

"Would you mind if I left some of my belongings here?"

He shook his head and I frowned. "Sookie, please take it with you." I was about to get a little upset when he pulled me into his arms. "I'd like to buy you some new clothes and belongings for when you are here. That way you have to be here to enjoy them."

I sighed and pulled back from him, my eyebrow raised. "What have I said about you spending money on me?"

"And what have I said," he countered. "I want to treat you right, Sookie. It is me taking you from your home, so I wish to spend money on you. And believe me; I want to spend money on you."

"I can't see you enjoying shopping." The thought of Eric in a tracksuit in a shopping mall was laughable.

"No, I don't enjoy it. But Pam does and that way I can treat her as well. Would you deny me giving my only child a treat?"

He was playing it up by pouting at me, and I smacked him in the chest. Which only caused him to laugh loudly at me. "Come along, lover, I know a won battle when I see one."

After I'd thrown my belongings back into my bag, he led me out of his home and to the Corvette. He was a complete gentleman as he helped me into the vehicle, although felt me up when he leant across to do my seatbelt up. I'd simply smiled at his antics, and we drove off in comfortable silence.

.

The parking lot at Merlotte's was as busy as normal, but Eric made sure that he parked under one of the lights to ward off any potential thieves. Although I wasn't sure that even Bon Temps had anyone stupid enough to steal a vampire's car. And the licence plate of _FANG1_ was enough to tell the locals who owned the car.

I went into Merlotte's ahead of Eric, and the second I walked inside the room, I felt all eyes flick to me.

"Sookie!" Jason shouted as he ran up to me and pulled me into a suffocating hug. "Sook, I was so fucking worried about you! You've been gone for days, and Sam said that fucking vampires had you. I swear I am going to hunt down that vampire that took you and stick a fucking wooden stake straight through his heart."

I pulled back from my brother and pushed him off me. I was aware of the expression on my face, but I did nothing to hide my emotions from him.

"Jason Stackhouse, you will do nothing of the sort. I was not taken, I went willingly."

"What? You're fucking that vampire? The blond one?"

"That is none of your business," I spat back at him desperately trying to keep my fangs under control. I was regretting not asking Eric on tips about how to control them. But it wasn't only my fangs that were fighting to break free, I could feel that every one of my senses was on heightened alert, and I was acutely aware of Eric standing a few meters away outside of the bar.

"Of course it is. You're my sister! Do you think I want to be associated with a sister who's a fangbanging whore?"

With that insult I threw Jason into the wall quicker than Eric had chance to get into the room and do the same thing. The enraged vampire in question came up behind me, but didn't act, letting me be the one to deal with my brother. He simply glared at Jason and I could imagine that the look on his face wasn't a pleasant one.

"I will sleep with whomever I chose," I growled at him. "And it is no business of yours. You have no right to say who I can see or what to do with my life. And I am sick of you and this small-minded fucking town." The last part was for everyone else who was thinking the same thing as Jason. Which was most of the bar, to be honest.

But Jason, seemingly, didn't know when to shut up. "Why can't you date a normal man like Sam? You know that he likes you. Don't go running off with vampires!"

I narrowed my eyes despite being mildly amused by Jason's inaccurate comment about Sam. I hadn't looked to him, but I was aware that he was standing a few feet back to my right, and with my increased senses I could smell not only his distinctly doggy aroma, but his irritation and fear as well.

"As I said, Jason Stackhouse, I will date who I wish. And I wish to be with Eric. And it's not as if I'm normal myself, have you thought about that?"

I didn't mind saying it as everyone in Bon Temps knew there was something off about me, even if they didn't know exactly what my 'disability' was. Now if they knew what I was they'd be even more fearful of me and treat me like a complete outcast. Something I was seriously beginning to feel like.

"Sookie –" he started to protest trying to get himself off of the floor, but his pain making him unable to do so.

"Don't. I'm not interested." I took a breath to calm myself, and from somewhere Eric sent me a wave of calm, which helped enormously. "You're my brother, Jason. You've been there for me for all of my twenty-five years, but do not think that you get to tell me what to do. I love you, Jase, but you're pissing me off."

Jason managed to get up this time, but he was obviously in pain. I'd surprised myself at my own strength, and felt a little guilty as I hadn't planned on hurting him.

"I'm sorry, Sook. But you disappeared … what else am I meant to think? Sam told me that you'd been kidnapped and I just wanted to rescue you." I had to admire his loyalty to me, and in truth he probably wouldn't have reacted like he had done without Sam's involvement. Eric was obviously thinking along the same lines as we both turned to face Sam.

"I know," I said as I turned back to him. "And I thank you for your concern, but you don't need to worry about me. I'm happy, and I finally feel like I belong somewhere." Eric stroked my back in obvious appreciation of my words. "And I'm sorry; I didn't mean to hurt you."

Jason stood up straight to make it look like he wasn't in pain. His pride was obviously most hurt after being essentially beaten up by a girl.

"I'm good. But you got strong, Sook. You been eating spinach?"

I laughed at his thought process. "No, Jason. I haven't."

Everyone in the bar seemed to relax and get back to their own business now that Jason and me weren't arguing anymore. But I could still feel Eric's rage emanating off him, and it was directed at Sam.

"Just thought I'd ask," he replied innocently before shaking himself and grabbing his beer from the table.

"Jase, we're going to just have a chat with Sam, and then go and see Gran. I'll see you later?"

"Sure thing, sis." He nodded to me, before turning to Eric. "Vampire," he said respectfully with a nod.

I felt Eric's surprise at his action, and he uncharacteristically held out a hand to Jason. "It's Eric."

"Nice to meet you, Eric," my brother said, trying to grow a few inches, but failing miserably. "You'd better be good to my sister, okay?"

Eric raised an eyebrow but kept calm. You didn't normally threated the Vampire King of Louisiana, but then Jason didn't know who he was. "I will do."

With that, Eric gently pushed me away from my brother while eyeballing Sam and indicating for him to lead us into his office. I could see that Sam was a little paler than normal, and he no doubt knew that Eric (and me) was less than happy with him.

When we arrived in Sam's office, Godric had also arrived, though I hadn't noticed his presence before then. Sam was evidently shocked by his appearance and warily looked at the three of us.

"Are you okay?" Godric asked me, before flicking his eyes to Eric. It was probably very obvious to him that Eric's scent was all over me, as well as mine all over him, and I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed that Godric would know exactly what the two of us had been up to.

"I'm fine. Pissed off with Jason, but he's easily led."

I turned my attention back to Sam as well, and glared at him along with Eric and Godric.

"Care to explain yourself?" Eric said, casually leaning against the wall of the office even though he was anything but relaxed.

"I was worried for her."

That didn't appease Eric any. "I told you last time that she was under my protection."

Sam scoffed, and I felt Godric inch closer to him. "That doesn't mean you're not going to snatch her and take her back to New Orleans with you."

"Well it's lucky for you that I've just moved back to Shreveport."

Sam's mouth fell open. "Why?"

"That is none of your concern."

Sam looked flummoxed. "Sookie, I was merely concerned for you. I didn't mean for Jason to so het up about looking for you, I just placed a couple of calls to try to find out that you were alive. I know you said that you couldn't be glamoured, but Sook, you're standing two of the oldest vampires in this country. And aside from the fact that Northman's scent is all over you, you smell like a vampire."

I raised an eyebrow. I hadn't thought about how I smelt to other beings – did I smell vampire-like to Sam and other weres and shifters.

"Has he forced you to drink his blood?"

That got a growl from both of the vampires in the room, and I felt my own fangs grow long in my mouth.

"No, he hasn't," I hissed at him. "And you would do well to not piss me off right now, Sam." Eric and Godric came to stand at my either shoulder, and all three of us glared at him.

Sam's gaze was fixed firmly on my mouth, and I realised that I was bearing my fangs at him.

"You will keep this to yourself," Eric said in a voice that gave no alternative.

"Sookie, what the fuck has he…" he didn't get to finish that sentence before Godric pinned him to the wall.

"As my child said, you will keep this to yourself."

Sam didn't drop it, however, and kept on staring at me. "What are you? You have fangs yet your heart still beats?"

"Merlotte!" Eric barked, and Sam finally turned to him. "If you want to keep your canine existence you will shut your mouth right now. And you will not breathe a word of this to anyone. Do not trouble your mind with wondering what she is, but instead be worried that I _will_ be breathing down your neck. And remember that the only reason I haven't already put you down is because for some reason Sookie likes you. If for any reason you piss her off further, I will not hesitate to end you."

"Okay," Sam said with his hands up in front of him in a surrender gesture. "I promise I won't say anything to anyone."

I was sure that Sam still wanted an explanation, but I wasn't going to give him one then, and I'd be speaking to Eric and Godric before saying anything to him.

"You'd be wise not to," Godric said in a calm voice. He led Eric and I out into the parking lot and we stopped when we got to Eric's car.

"Did you contact Niall?" Eric asked him.

He nodded. "Yes. He will meet us Sookie's Gran's house. He says he has news."

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><p><strong>So, more trouble? What does Niall want? Is Sam going to cause a problem?<strong>

**I'd love to know your thoughts.**

**I wish everyone a very merry Christmas, and I'll see you in the new year.**

**;)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey look – a chapter! And it's early! I want to thank everyone who's taken the time to read, rate and review.**

**So, I've had a little fun with changing the history in the books here, as well as playing with Wikipedia! So I apologise for any mistakes I may have made.**

* * *

><p><strong>Lux Æterna – Chapter 12<strong>

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><p><strong>Eric<strong>

I drove Sookie to her Gran's while Godric flew there since we weren't all going to fit in the car together and Godric had never been a fan of my driving despite the fact that as vampires we'd be likely to survive any kind of crash. I could tell there was something on her mind, but I didn't push her, waiting patiently for her to speak to me.

"Do you think I should tell Sam the truth?" she asked after a minute.

I raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I know what Sam's like. He's seen that I have fangs, yet knows I still have a heartbeat and your scent is all over me. And not to mention the fact that Godric was with us as well. He's going to know something is up, and I wonder whether it would be better to tell him something rather than let him make further assumptions."

I thought for a moment. "I don't trust him. I don't trust any were or shifter for that matter. But I think it's evident that he cares for you, even if it is with a misguided romantic interest." The last part of my sentence was decidedly snappy.

"So what do you think? He knows something is up."

"I don't want him to know the truth, but if he starts sniffing around we may have to say something." Personally, I was more of the opinion that he would be better dead. But Sookie had told me that he was her friend, and she seemed to trust him for some reason. She'd also shown that she had good instincts. "Just try one thing for me. You were able to glamour the human … see if you have any influence over the shifter."

She raised an eyebrow. "Can you glamour weres and shifters?"

"No. But you are part human, and as are they. It may work, and it might be a solution."

She nodded. "I'll try. But if it doesn't work will you let me at least give Sam a little of the truth, it should keep him quiet."

"I'd rather you didn't, but I'm willing to trust your judgement. Just be aware that if he betrays any of us he will be terminated."

Her expression was shocked, but in my opinion, it was the only other option, and if the shifter breathed one word of what he knew to anyone, he would be on a fast track to the pet cemetery.

"I can understand that," she said after a moment.

We arrived at Sookie's house in Bon Temps, though in my mind I rejected calling it her home. Her home was with me and Godric, and that was in Shreveport. Godric was already waiting for us hidden in the treeline and soundlessly joined the two of us before we approached the house.

Sookie went ahead, shouting to her Gran as she entered. She led us into the kitchen where Adele Stackhouse was sitting at the table in a pale pink dressing gown and drinking some hot drink. As soon as she saw Sookie, she stood up and greeted her with a warm hug.

"Sookie! I knew that what your brother was saying wasn't true." She patted Sookie on the shoulder before looking over to Godric and me. "Are you going to introduce me to your friends?"

Sookie blushed a little, before stepping aside and letting her Gran come up close to us. "Gran, this is Godric and Eric. They're both vampires," she added in case it wasn't obvious. "And I wasn't kidnapped by them, but I went to stay at Eric's house in Shreveport for a few nights." She swallowed nervously. "Guys, this is Adele Stackhouse."

Adele's eyes ran over both of us, obviously appraising us in a move neither Godric or I were used to. And particularly by a human.

"He's quite the dish, isn't he?" Adele said to her granddaughter while looking at me, who tried to hide her face. "I can see why you like him. So come on, do you not hug?"

"Gran –" Sookie started, but I leaned down to the old lady and hugged her anyway. Again, it wasn't something I remembered ever doing before, but I had a feeling that life with Sookie was going to change my perception of a few things.

After hugging me tightly, she let go and gave Godric an equally tight hug. I could feel my maker's amusement at her antics and she ushered us both to sit down at the table.

"Sookie should have told me that she was bringing vampires with her, as I would have ordered in some of that True Blood." Adele was chastising her granddaughter in saying that, and Sookie rolled her eyes.

"We're both fine," Godric reassured her. I wanted to add that I'd just eaten, but didn't think that it was appropriate.

Adele seemed happy enough and turned her attention to Sookie and me. I was sat closely to her right, her left hand in my right one and my left hand resting on her inner thigh. Adele's face suddenly turned into a huge smile as she looked at the two of us.

"You've slept with him haven't you?"

Sookie almost choked and I couldn't remember being more shocked by a human. But Adele didn't seem bothered by the fact that her granddaughter was sleeping with me; in fact, if anything, she was incredibly pleased.

"Gran!" Sookie was going a bright shade of red, a human characteristic I was pleased that she still possessed.

"Oh be quiet, girl," she teased back. "I know you've not been able to be with human men because of your gift, so it makes sense if you can't hear the thoughts of vampires. And he's quite a catch, aren't you young man."

I raised an eyebrow at being called 'young man'. "Gran, he's anything but young," Sookie, pointed out gently.

Adele looked interested. "Really? When were you made vampire?"

"Godric turned me in what is now modern day Sweden around one thousand years ago."

She looked between the two of us. "One thousand years ago? That's incredible. He is your sire?" She asked looking to Godric. I nodded in agreement. "Can I ask how old you are?"

"I was on this earth for just over one thousand years before I turned Eric." Sookie's Gran looked shocked for a moment before her enthusiasm returned.

"Oh the stories the two of you must be able to tell. The changes you both must have seen … I would love to hear some of those stories some time, if that's okay. But I sense that now is not the time." She looked back to her granddaughter. "I assume there was a reason for seeing me today other than to let me know your brother was being foolish."

Sookie nodded. "There is, Gran." Sookie's tone was solemn and she looked up to me. I knew this was going to be hard for her, and really, this truth needed to come from Sookie as much as possible.

"Okay, go on." I could see that the old lady had steeled herself against whatever Sookie was going to tell her, and wouldn't be easily defeated. I had to admire her as she certainly had a strong sense of character. And although Sookie wasn't her biological granddaughter, she was the woman who had raised her and Sookie had certainly taken on much of her strength.

I gave a supportive smile to Sookie when she looked up at me, and I could feel her own steely determination kick in. "Gran, what I need to tell you concerns me."

"Okay…"

Sookie took a deep breath. "I know about Fintan."

Adele's eyes opened wide as she stared at her granddaughter. "How? I was always so careful about not thinking about him."

Sookie was looking oddly at her Gran. "Are you thinking about him now?"

"Yes."

"I can't read those thoughts. Even if I try hard, I can't read them." Sookie looked in surprise up at me.

Godric obviously had the same thought as me, and when he captured Adele's eyes, he tried to glamour her. But as I had expected, he was unable to get any information concerning the Fae from Adele.

"What did you just do?" she asked.

"All vampires have a form of mind control called glamouring. It is what we have used to remained undiscovered for so many millennia. I tried to force you to tell me about the Fae, but you memories of Fintan are well protected."

"Fae magic?" Sookie asked.

"Yes," Godric said with a nod.

Adele looked to Sookie, her eyes deep with emotion. "I loved my husband greatly," she started. "But he couldn't give me children, and when I met Fintan …" A tear slipped down her cheek and Sookie left my side to sit with her gran.

"I know. I'm not judging you at all." Sookie handed her Gran a tissue from the box on the table. She put an arm in comfort around the older lady, and I again found myself marvelling that she was only twenty-five years old.

"How do you know of this?" Adele asked after regaining her composure.

Sookie sat back in her chair. "Because a lot has happened to me in the last few months. I have met both Eric and Godric and found out things about myself that I didn't believe possible. And I'm sorry, Gran, this isn't going to be easy for you to hear."

Sookie went on to tell her Gran of the sequence of events that started with me meeting her in the parking lot of Merlotte's and ended with Godric's revelation and learning of her history from Niall. She told Adele that she was the daughter of a vampire and the granddaughter of a fairy prince. And amazingly, Adele took it all in, asking a few probing questions at times, but she certainly didn't disbelieve what Sookie was telling her, even if it was evidently upsetting for her to hear. When Sookie had finished speaking, Adele was silent for a few minutes.

"I don't see why your grandfather chose to leave you with me," she asked Sookie.

"Because Fintan was my son," the fairy's voice answered as he sauntered into the kitchen. He'd masked his scent but that didn't stop both Godric and I from eyeing him hungrily.

"Gran, this is Niall, my grandfather, and as he just said, Fintan's father."

She stood up to shake Niall's hand and indicated for him to sit with us at the table. He was still wary and kept his distance from the two of us at the table, but was polite in accepting Adele's invitation.

"How?" Adele asked him. "And why?"

"The why is because you are of my kin. I needed to keep Sookie hidden from those of my race who would harm her, but I couldn't bear to have her adopted by any other human family. You already had two children and two grandchildren with Fae blood, so Sookie would fit in perfectly. I simply performed a little magic that altered the perception of your family and those around you."

Niall was decidedly under valuing the magic he performed, as I knew that was very powerful Fae magic that only him as a Prince of the Realm would have been able to wield.

"Gran?" Sookie said, taking her Gran's hand in hers. "I just want you to know that although you're not biologically my grandma, you'll always be Gran to me. I wouldn't be who I am without you."

Sookie had tears in her own eyes, and Adele pulled her tightly into a hug. "I know I am, my special girl. I always knew that you'd be destined for great things. You were always so different to those of your age, I knew you something special. And you are … you're the daughter of an ancient vampire. So tell me, do you have fangs?"

I smiled a little as Sookie let out a sigh of relief. "I do. Although I didn't until a few days ago. It was why I had to go away as I went through some kind of transition that means I'm a little bit more vampire-like than I was before."

"But you can still go outside in the daylight?"

Sookie nodded with a smile. "Yes, I can."

Both Godric and I had been relieved that Sookie was still able to go out in the daylight, although we had our concerns that she wouldn't be as alert during the daylight hours as she was at night. And we were both also surprised that it was vampire blood she needed rather than human blood. But then if there had been another half-breed before, than not much was known about them.

"Good. Can I see them?"

Sookie turned to me having never really had to control her fangs before now. "Just imagine them down in your mouth," I told her. "Or, if it's easy, imagine something you'd like to eat." I raised a suggestive eyebrow, and as expected, her fangs lowered in her mouth. She showed them off to her Gran who seemed thoroughly impressed.

"Adele," Godric said when both her and Sookie had finished giggling. "I'm sure I don't need to say this, but this information has to be kept to yourself. We cannot risk other vampires finding out what Sookie is. Eric is King of this state, which makes him the most important vampire in Louisiana, and the only ones that know about this are the two of us and Eric's child, Pamela."

"I can understand that. And Jason shouldn't be told." We all agreed with that statement. Adele, however, turned to the Prince. "If you have performed some magic on me before when remembering Fintan, can you not do something similar here?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You would be wiling?"

She nodded. "To protect my granddaughter, yes."

"So be it."

Niall did just that, taking either side of Adele's face in his and muttering in his own Fae language, which had always been a secret to every other race. The magic only took a minute or so, and when he was done, Godric tested his glamour on Adele, but only to have her rebuff any attempt at the information.

"Do excuse me," Adele said when they were finished. "That seems to have tired me out, and my old bones need to get some rest." She kissed Sookie on the head before approaching Godric and I. "I am certain that either one of you could kill me with just a flick of your wrist. But I will tell you this," she looked to be in particular. "You will not hurt her. She is precious to me and she has a good soul. Do not break her heart."

I felt Godric's amusement as Adele waved her finger in my face. But I understood her warning, and it was very similar to one that Godric had given me.

I stood up and bowed my head to her. "I understand completely, and I promise you that not only will I do everything I can to keep her safe, but I will never hurt her."

"Do you love her?" she asked me.

It was something that Sookie and I had not discussed between us, and other than my love for Godric and Pam, I had never experienced the emotion. But Godric had already accused me of it, and I knew that I held Sookie with a very high regard.

"I believe that I might," I said with a wink.

I felt a jolt of emotion come from Sookie, and I turned to her, taking her face between my palms and placing a chaste kiss on her lips. Godric seemed happy enough, although I wasn't about to push things by doing what I wanted to her in the presence of Niall, Adele and my maker.

Adele left us after hugging Sookie and the four of us were left in the kitchen. "You said you had news," Godric asked of Niall in a more business-like tone than had been used in front of Sookie's grandmother.

"Yes. I have done some further investigations since I last spoke to you."

"Concerning?" Godric snapped.

"I told you before that I believed there was one former case of a vampire siring a half breed. Well I have established who this is."

That got all of our attention. "She is still living?" I asked.

"She is. She was made full vampire by her father around five centuries after her change."

Sookie looked at Niall astounded. "She was able to be turned then?" Sookie looked to me and I could feel that her emotions were a complicated mix.

Niall nodded. "She was, although it is unclear how long she would have lived on her own. It was likely to be a very long time."

"Why do I get the feeling, fairy, that you are not telling us everything."

Godric had expressed the thought that was on my mind. Niall was being evasive, although if he had intended on keeping secrets he wouldn't have told Godric that he had news for us. But that was it with the Fae, they could never be trusted.

Niall smiled to himself. "You are right, there is much more to this. And what I know cannot leave this room. When I tell you, Godric, you will realise why."

I could tell that Godric was losing his patience with the fairy. "Tell us," I growled at him to save Godric from doing so.

Niall seemed unconcerned. "As I said, there has been one half-breed, who was born a little over two thousand, eight hundred years ago. Her name was Pythia."

I looked to Godric who was as stunned as I was. Pythia. The Ancient Pythoness. She was a god-like figure among vampires and one of the oldest living and wisest ones. She was blind due to her old and pure blood, but remained the seer she had been many millennia ago when she was the Priestess at the temple of Apollo.

"Am I missing out on something?" Sookie eventually asked and pulled me from my own thoughts.

Godric turned to his daughter. "Pythia was commonly known at the Oracle of Delphi and was the priestess of Apollo located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus in Greece. She is a wise and ancient vampire who has the gift of foresight." He paused for a moment. "She is also my maker."

I turned to Godric in amazement. In the one thousand years plus that I had known him, he had never divulged the identity of his maker. But never would I have believed that the Ancient Pythoness was his maker. Godric caught my eye and I understood the caution he was sending me. That was also something that obviously Niall did not know either, as he turned his head quickly to Godric.

"I did not know that," he conceded.

"Why would you? She released me many centuries ago," Godric admitted. "I am her only child, yet I have seen her only a few times in the last millennium, and she had bid me not to speak of our relationship to anyone. However, I feel that I have no option now. But I did not know she was a half-breed." He turned to Niall. "Tell me how you have learned of this information."

"The Fae have texts going back many millennia, and I am one of few who is able to read the ancient language. It is archived in Fae history that Clotho, the youngest of the Three Fates of Moirae mated with a Vrykolakas, or vampire to give him his modern name, called Apollyon. She fell pregnant despite his undead state and Pythia was the offspring. As you know, Pythia served as the priestess of Apollo for many centuries before times changed in ancient Greece and her father turned her to become full vampire. Apollyon was killed only half a millennia after that."

"Is Pythia aware that you know this?" I asked Niall after we'd all had chance to digest the information.

"I cannot be sure. I have been obviously unable to contact her, but as the Oracle I would not be surprised that she knows of this and Sookie's involvement."

This was a lot to take on board, even for vampires who had been living as long as Godric and I. What it meant was that this was much bigger than we had anticipated, and also affected Sookie. In many ways, I imagined that we would be summoned shortly by my grandsire, and in truth I wasn't looking forward to that. But then she may be able to shed some light on Sookie's condition, and that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.

I could see that Godric and Niall obviously had things to discuss, so I pulled Sookie aside and led her to the living room.

"Are you okay?"

She sighed. "Yeah. That went much better than expected, to be honest. I was scared that Gran would be upset by what I had to tell her, or not believe me. But she seemed to take it on board okay, and I'm hoping that it won't change our relationship."

I smiled. "Well I for one believe that your Gran is a very strong woman. And it's obviously where you get it from. She has been a great role model for you."

"She has. I love her dearly." I sat down onto the sofa and pulled Sookie into my arms. "You know Eric, I believe I could love you as well."

Her smile was warm but a little wicked, and she ran her hands over my t-shirt. I growled lowly at her before capturing her lips in a deep kiss and holding her as close to me as I could. Both of our sets of fangs had run down, and Sookie seemingly deliberately pierced her tongue as she kissed me. I may also have done the same, so our kiss became more fierce as we swapped blood and ground against each other.

Unfortunately, we were interrupted all too soon by Godric and Niall re-joining us in the living room, and I put a little space between Sookie and I, knowing all too well how thin my control was.

"Sookie, I am sorry but I must leave for the night as I have business to attend to. I hope to be back before daylight to see you."

"Where will you sleep?" Sookie asked me, and I could see the concern in her eyes for my safety.

"Do not worry, I will be okay. I have a safe house only a few miles from here. It is not much, and wholly underground, but it will do for tonight. I am capable of 'slumming it' when I have to." Sookie smiled and rolled her eyes at my use of slang.

Sookie stood up and followed me outside. She kissed me deeply, making me regret that I had business to attend to, but made me all the more certain that I wanted to spend as much time with her as I could.

"I will see you later tonight, and I will come by at first dark tomorrow night to feed you. If you get hungry before that, let Godric know and he will sort something out."

"I will do," she said with a nod of her head while digging her fingers into my ass.

"Oh, and by the way, your new bodyguard will be over tomorrow night to meet you. His name is Tray Dawson." I gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Night, lover."

With that, I disappeared in the direction of my corvette and drove off before I gave Sookie the chance to respond to me.

.

**Sookie**

Eric was going to be in trouble when I saw him next. I couldn't believe that he had just dropped that on me as he zipped away in his shiny red car. Godric came outside to join me as well, and raised an eyebrow in question at my obvious annoyance.

"He's so high-handed at times," I complained to my father.

"Eric is simply concerned for your safety. And as am I, particularly after Niall's revelation tonight."

"Why?"

"Partly because of my maker herself. She is an old and very powerful vampire. She leads the vampire council and very little is known of her origins other than that she was the Oracle of Delphi. That you are the same as her could tell us a lot."

"Want to tell me what, exactly?"

He smiled a little and shook his head. "I am sorry, I cannot say right now. But Eric is right in assuming that it is likely that we will be summoned by her."

I hadn't realised that Eric had been of that opinion, but I assumed his connection to Godric meant that his maker was able to read his thoughts or emotions to some extent.

"Will it be okay?"

"I cannot say. I would hope so, though. Pythia is known to be fair, and you are the innocent party in this." I wasn't sure I liked the sound of that, but I remained quiet.

Godric and Niall stayed for around an hour before they both also had to go. I spent the rest of the evening researching on the internet all I could about Pythia and the Greek legends that Niall had referred to. I was astounded that a lot of what I was reading was real, but I was unsure at times where the myth blurred into reality.

Eric came as anticipated an hour before sunrise, and we spent some time together before he had to leave for the safety of his underground lair. I did give him a piece of my mind for springing the information concerning my new bodyguard on me, but I got the feeling he was expecting it and he easily distracted me from my anger with his very skilled mouth.

.

The next day I'd been up for an hour or two before there was a knock at the door. As Gran was busy in the kitchen, I went to answer it to reveal a huge man filling up the doorway. I could tell from his mind that he was a were, and I assumed that he was my new bodyguard.

"Hi, you're Sookie Stackhouse? Tray Dawson," he said sticking out a hand to me. "Northman told me that you'd been pre-warned …" he trailed off and I instantly warmed to him. He seemed much more likeable than Alcide, if not as good-looking, but then with Eric in charge, that didn't surprise me.

"Yeah, he did. Nice to meet you Tray." I shook his hand, and peaked into his mind, but revealed no malicious thoughts of grievances about the job he'd been employed to do. But his wasn't the only mind I heard in the vicinity, and I looked to his truck, which was parked in my driveway. "Is there someone else here?" I asked him.

"You're good," he said with a smile. "I brought my girlfriend along as well. Amelia!"

I saw that a slim, chestnut haired woman jumped out of the truck and jogged towards us. She also had a warm smile on her face as she came up to stand by her man, wrapping an arm tightly around him and nuzzling her head into his chest.

"Hi, I'm Amelia," she said, holding out her hand to me. I shook it and got a noisy glimpse into her mind. She was certainly a loud broadcaster, and I could tell she wasn't a were. But then she did know all about me and Eric.

"Sookie. Nice to meet you."

"I guess you're wondering about me," she said.

"I am."

"Well, I know that Tray's a wolf, and a damned cute one at that, and I know all about vampires. I can't say I'm the biggest fan of them, but Northman's employed me to work for him before in New Orleans, and when he discovered I was up here now with my wolf, he wanted my assistance."

"Employed you?"

"Yeah, I'm a witch."

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><p><strong>So, going to leave it there as Sookie and Amelia have some getting to know each other. But what do you think of Niall's revelation? And of Gran hearing about Sookie's history? Are Tray and Amelia a better choice to guard Sookie than Alcide?<strong>

**I'd love to know your thoughts.**

**I have a 4-day weekend over the New Year, so I'm hoping to have some more time to write. In the meantime, be good and have a great new year's eve.**

**;)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry for the delay in posting, I have been a little busy and also got distracted reading Charlene Harris' Harper Connelly series. Definitely worth reading, although a very odd relationship between the two mains. I liked it though.**

**Anyway …**

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><p><strong>Lux Æterna – Chapter 13<strong>

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><p>"You're a witch?" I repeated back to her with mild surprise. It wasn't as if I didn't know witches existed as I'd been told my natural grandmother was one, but I wouldn't have automatically pinned this bubby brunette as being one. Maybe it was that it my mind, witches were nasty, ugly old women with broomsticks and corresponding black cat.<p>

"Yeap," she repeated with obvious pride. "I started working for Eric around five or six years ago once I was fully qualified."

I didn't know what it meant to be fully qualified as a witch, but had mental visions of Hogwarts running through my mind. "Is there some kind of training academy?" I asked naïvely.

Amelia smiled and Tray gave her an elbow in the ribs. "I wish."

"I always tease her that she'd have made a hot Hermione," Tray told me. Amelia rolled her eyes, obviously having heard this before. "And she refuses to wear the Hogwarts uniform I bought her last Christmas."

Amelia stepped back to look at him and raised an eyebrow. It was quite interesting to watch them bicker like this, and I could see both the love between them and the humour they both shared. "Listen, wolf-boy, I'll do that when you dress up in grandma's flowery pink nightgown."

"Only if you're Little Red Riding Hood." He gave her a wink and she smiled at him. I did wonder whether Amelia could turn him into a frog or something if he annoyed her too much, or whether that kind of magic just came from fairy stories only.

She turned her attention back to me. "I had a mentor down in New Orleans. Octavia Fant is a powerful witch and she took me under her wing. She was the one who introduced me to Eric, as she'd been working for him for several decades before that."

I figured that maybe Amelia was a few years older than I was, and she certainly seemed to have a world of experience in her eyes. "How long have you been up here?" I asked.

"About a year. I met Tray in New Orleans when he was running a security job for the King, and I followed him up here after we got together."

"My ex-wife and daughter live in Bossier City," he clarified, "so I don't tend to stay away for too long."

Just then, Gran came out onto the porch and I realised quite how bad a hostess I'd been in not inviting Tray and Amelia inside for a drink.

"Gran, this is Tray Dawson and Amelia Broadway, they're friends of Eric's. This is my Gran, Adele Stackhouse." They made introductions between them and I invited my guests inside, making hot chocolate for all four of us.

"You're a very large man," Gran commented to Tray, and I got a very inappropriate image from Amelia that made me put my shields firmly in place. "Can I ask what you are?"

All three of us turned to my Gran in stunned silence.

"What?" she asked to us, an amused expression on her face. "I am aware of the existence of vampires, and I have the feeling that somehow Mr Dawson isn't quite human." Obviously, Gran new more than just about vampires, but with my grandfather's magic she wouldn't be unable to mention it. She also had very good instincts.

Tray looked to me, a surprised but also sceptical look on his face. "No offence, but can I trust her? I don't want to be responsible for our kind's knowledge being out in the open."

I looked to Gran before I answered him. "You can. Gran is more open-minded than most, and she's always accepted me and my quirks. She won't tell anyone," I looked to Gran who nodded with me, truth clear in her eyes.

"I'm a werewolf," he told her.

Gran, as I had expected her to be, was fascinated by this and immediately started to ask Tray many questions about the limits of being a werewolf and when they must change. He didn't seem to mind at Gran's interrogation of him, although he did stop short at turning into a wolf in our kitchen when she asked him to. I had to admit that I was interested myself, as neither Sam nor Eric had told me that much about weres and shifters.

"Eric has asked Tray to be my bodyguard," I said somewhat bitterly when Gran asked me how I knew Tray and Amelia.

"I'm sure he's only looking out for you, Sookie," she scolded when she saw the expression on my face. "That vampire cares deeply for you, and he is worried for your safety when he cannot be here during the daylight. You should be grateful, young lady."

I noticed Amelia smile slightly, and I somehow managed to resist the temptation to stick my tongue out at her.

"I am. And I do appreciate it," I said more to my guest who was doing the guarding than to my Gran. "I just don't like being stifled."

"I understand that," Tray said. "And my job is to make sure that you don't feel that way."

Gran smiled and stood up from the table. "Sookie, I hate to be rude, but it's time for me to go to my bridge club. It was nice to meet you both." She stood up and insisted on hugging both Tray and Amelia before she left us.

"She's a great lady," Amelia commented when we were alone.

"She is. She pretty much raised me since I was seven years old after my parents died."

There was a moment of silence before Tray spoke up. "I hope you don't mind me asking you this, but Northman told me you were important to him, and yet you're not living in the palace in New Orleans. In fact, and if I'm right I'd be stunned, I believe that he is moving to Shreveport. So what makes you so special?"

He didn't say it in a malicious way, more curious. "How much do you know?" I asked, hedging my bets. Eric hadn't been happy that Alcide managed to learn a little about me; although I got the feeling that he trusted Tray and Amelia more than Alcide.

"Not much apart from what I said. Northman said he wanted you protected and didn't choose the right guard the first time around. Although I'm surprised, Herveaux is a good wolf and was respected over in Jackson."

I wasn't so sure about that, and although Alcide was certainly nice to look at, I wasn't entirely sure about how much I'd trust him.

"I'm a telepath," I told them, sticking to my original curse rather than the newer things I'd more recently learned about myself.

"You can hear what I'm thinking?" she asked me, her mind whirring at a thousand miles an hour as she thought of all the things she didn't want me to know.

"I am. And you're a loud broadcaster," I said with a smile. "But don't worry; I really prefer not to look into peoples' minds all the time. You hear all sorts of things that you don't want to, and I prefer the peace and quiet. I have pretty good mental shields and it doesn't take too much concentration to block out minds, particularly when I'm attuned to them."

"Can you read supes' minds?" Tray asked, obviously wary.

"Vampires not at all, although their presence registers as an absence of thought, or a void. So essentially, I can tell you where a vampire is in an area, but not read them." Again, I didn't mention the one time I'd peaked into Eric's mind, and I wondered whether he'd let me try that again to see if it was just a one-off. "Weres and shifters are harder for me to read than humans. At close contact I'm okay with getting thoughts, but otherwise I get emotions mostly."

I'd assumed that my meeting with Tray and Amelia would be more of an informal introduction, rather than a display of the Tray's fighting skills, but from out of nowhere, I noticed Tray stiffen as if he was listening to something outside the farmhouse. I listened carefully too, using the increased hearing skills I'd recently obtained from going through my transition, and after a moment I could hear the sound of someone running in our direction.

Tray was already standing by the time that the door opened, and I could somehow sense that he was only seconds away from shifting into his wolf form. Amelia had grabbed my arm and we stood near to the unlocked back door of the property in case we had to make a hasty escape.

I heard my name being shouted out by a familiar voice, but it was soon silenced by Tray who had clasped a firm hand over the mouth of the intruder. The intruder who happened to be no other than Sam Merlotte.

"Sam?" I asked, wondering what the hell he was doing barging into my house.

Tray turned around to look at me. "He a friend of yours," he growled.

"He's my boss." Or soon to be ex-boss anyway. "Eric and I had a run-in with him last night. He isn't happy about me being with vampires, and I'm assuming that's why he felt the need to come here." I glared who Sam who was still pinned to the wall by Tray's body weight and held with one hand around his throat and the other over his mouth. Sam looked like he was struggling to breathe, so I decided to let him off. "You can let him go, Tray, only he's not leaving."

Tray seemed to agree with my assessment, and let go of Sam's neck and mouth, but deposited him in a chair at the kitchen table and kept a firm hand on his shoulder. "Don't move," he warned.

Sam's eyes were on me as I moved closer to the table, but didn't sit down. "What do you want, Sam? Do you have a good reason for bursting into my house like this?"

Sam was panicked, but was trying desperately to relax himself. "I was in the area … I heard that you had a wolf in your house … I was scared for you."

I didn't believe him for one instant. I lowered my shields and listened to him. He was genuinely concerned for me, but had made the decision to grab me and make me realise how dangerous Eric was. He was fully prepared to take me out of the state if he had to and hide me from the vampires. In his vision, I'd thank him, fall in love and we'd have puppies together.

I almost had to laugh at his romantic notion.

"I appreciate your concern, Sam, but you're lying to me. I can read your thoughts," I said with a laugh at the fact that he was even trying to conceal things from me. "And I don't need saving. I am fine."

Sam sobered up and narrowed his eyes. "How can you be fine? I saw it! I saw that you had fangs, and yet you have a heartbeat and you're obviously able to go out in the daylight! You've had his blood, Sookie, I can smell it in you. What has he done to you!" Sam was yelling, and it took a firm hand from Tray to stop him from getting up from the chair.

But the proverbial cat was out of the bag and he'd spilled my secret to Tray and Amelia. As I wasn't sure whether Eric wanted them to know or not, I was concerned both for them and myself. But Eric had been proven right over Sam. I only hoped that he hadn't told anyone else.

"Who else have you told," I asked him with surprising cool.

"No one."

I was deep into his thoughts so I could tell that he was telling the truth. Which was a relief, but didn't change the fact that Tray and Amelia now new about me and I could feel both of their eyes on me, no doubt wondering whether what Sam was saying was the truth. But the only option I had concerning Sam was to try to do what Eric suggested.

"Sam," I started, my voice still calm as I moved closer to him and took his hand. I stared deep into his eyes, and I slipped into his thoughts. But I went further than just listen to him, this time I pushed like I had done with the man who'd tried to rob the store. "You didn't see anything yesterday. You know that I'm dating Eric, and you're happy for me. You also are aware that I handed in my notice three weeks ago and won't be coming back to Merlotte's."

Sam smiled at me and pulled me into a tight hug. "I'm happy for you, Sook. Really. I may not be the biggest fan of vampires, but Eric will be able to look after you."

I tried my hardest to keep my disbelief inside, and I caught Tray's equally surprised expression from over Sam's shoulder. I needed to be sure that I had somehow 'glamoured' Sam, so I slipped into his thoughts and saw him thinking of me. Remarkably, I could tell that he had been glamoured, something I'd been able to tell in the other humans I'd met who'd had more than one encounter with humans.

"Thanks, Sam," I said, keeping up the pretence.

"You're a good friend, Sookie. I wish you all the best."

He then stood up and walked out of the farmhouse, seemingly completely unaware of the way he'd entered it only ten minutes earlier.

After watching him leave the property through the kitchen window, I sat down heavily at the table and stared at the wood grain in front of me. I really wished that Amelia and Tray hadn't just witnessed what had happened, and I hadn't made things any easier for myself by glamouring Sam in front of them. I was aware that it was still a few hours until Eric was going to be up, even in mid-December, so I had to find a way to manage this or at least keep Tray and Amelia in my farmhouse until Eric got here.

"You can trust us," Amelia eventually said breaking the silence in the room. I looked up to face Amelia to see that she had a kind smile on her face, and Tray's hand in hers. "I've been performing wards to keep out intruders from the King's properties for years, and Tray has run security often for him up here and around Shreveport. He trusts us – as much as he trusts anyone – and you can as well. If you're fearing that we're going to tell anyone about your wacky secret, you don't need to."

Amelia was being completely honest. Her body language told me so, as did her mind. Tray equally so.

"Thank you," I said to them while letting out a sigh of relief. "Do you want to go and sit somewhere a bit comfier? It's getting a little cold in here."

Both of my guests accepted and followed me into the family room. I took a moment to light the fire, which gave me some thinking time. I didn't think it was best to tell them everything, particularly of my parentage, but they'd heard and seen enough of the strange things I could do.

Once the fire was lit, I joined Amelia and Tray who were sitting together on the sofa. I took the armchair and faced them both.

"So," Tray started. "I take it that what Merlotte came in yelling about was true then. Since you somehow managed to glamour it out of him."

I took a deep breath. "Yeah. Although for the record, that's only the second time that I've done the whole glamouring thing, and the first time wasn't particularly intentional."

"But Merlotte is a shifter. Vampires can't even glamour shifters and weres. Yet you can." There was a distinct tone to Tray's voice, and I could tell he wasn't overly impressed with my newfound skill and obviously considered me some kind of threat.

"Look, Tray, you said earlier that I can trust you, so please believe me that you can trust me as well. I have no intention of glamouring you, and the only reason I did so to Sam was because Eric suggested it after he saw things he shouldn't." I paused and sighed. "I have to admit that I thought if I could explain things to Sam he'd be okay, but obviously I was wrong. It was all I could do, as otherwise I'm fairly certain that Eric would have killed him."

Tray looked thoughtful. "Whatever this ability is, you need to make sure that others don't find out about it."

Hadn't I heard that one before. "I know. And I'm guessing that's part of the reason that Eric wants you guarding me. He obviously does trust you."

"You must mean a lot to him. He doesn't tend to look out for females this carefully who are within his care. Although I can smell you've had his blood, which severely raises the stakes where you are concerned."

I nodded.

"So do you have fangs?" Amelia asked me.

I gave a half-smile. "Yeah, I do."

"But you do still breathe," Tray added. "And you're obviously okay with daylight." I nodded. "Shit, you don't sparkle in direct sunlight, do you?"

I rolled my eyes and threw a cushion at him. Amelia let out a loud laugh, obviously pleased to not be the brunt of the Hogwarts jokes for a change.

"Honestly, Tray, I haven't tried it. But I'm guessing not."

I gave him a grin, but in truth, it had been overcast since I'd gone through my transition. But then I was pretty certain that I didn't have iridescent skin. I shook my head at Tray who was still laughing at his own joke.

"But seriously, all this only happened to me recently. Before … before I was just a telepath. But now, I have fangs, I can seemingly glamour people and my senses are so much better. And I don't have the disadvantage of sleeping during the day. I haven't really tried to find out what else I can do."

Amelia looked at me. "This was recent?"

"Yeah. Less than a week ago."

"What happened? What are you?"

"I don't really know how much to tell you," I confessed. "I feel like I should check with Eric before I tell you everything. It's kind of out there."

Tray seemed to understand that. "Fine, but you have these vampire-like characteristics. I need to know … do you drink blood?"

I nodded. "Yes, but not human blood."

"Shifter blood?" he asked concerned.

"Vampire. I need normal food as well, but at the moment I do also drink vampire blood."

"Wow," Amelia said shaking her head. I can't say I've heard of anyone before that is part-vampire and is able to go outside. It's unreal."

"I agree," Tray said. "I wouldn't believe it possible at all. And a telepath to boot. Northman did right in choosing you."

Amelia frowned and smacked Tray before I had the chance to say anything. "So, what, you're saying that Eric's only interested in her because she's this funky part-vampire telepath with super skills?"

Tray sighed to himself. "A telepath would be considered very valuable. You said that the other things only happened to you recently?" I nodded. "So I'm just saying that it would be wise for any vampire to tie Sookie to them."

"You're unbelievable!" Amelia protested.

But the fact was that Tray was right. "Amelia, he's right. It's how I met Eric in the first place. He sent one of his lackeys to come and see if I was really a telepath, and when it turned out that I was, Eric made himself known."

"I'm surprised that he didn't take you back to New Orleans with him."

"Thinking about it now, so am I." And if it hadn't been that Eric smelt his maker's blood in me, I would have been. "But he didn't, and we got to know each other. I like him a lot, though he's maybe a little over-protective"

"Vampire, Sookie," Amelia pointed out. "They're hardwired to be possessive, whether that's of people, property or land."

She was probably right there, and I certainly witnessed enough of that in the short while I'd known both Eric and Godric. I made us all fresh drinks and the three of us sat chatting until it was dark, and I enjoyed the chance to get to know both Amelia and Tray.

Eric arrived after not too long, and I felt his presence before I saw or heard him. To that end, I'd met him on the porch and promptly got myself pinned to the outside wall of the house.

"Mmmm," he moaned into my hair. "I've missed you. I want you in my bed when I wake up. I want to fuck you, Sookie." He was rubbing the bulge of his jeans against me to prove his point.

"Yeah, well, I'm sorry, buster, but we're not having sex now. I have visitors."

Eric let out a low growl. "He's a wolf, they're used to hearing others have sex, and I doubt the witch will mind if her wolf is trying to fuck her as well. I want you."

I tried to shove Eric away, but I'd have had better luck in trying to move the house I was pinned against. "Eric, I don't want to have sex with you here and now. And anyway, there's another vampire approaching us." I was pretty sure that it wasn't Godric, which meant that there was an intruder on my land.

That caused Eric to straighten up, and he turned in the direction of the 'void' I'd sensed. He remained standing close to me, but stood in front of me to protect me from whoever it was.

"Compton, what do you want."

"I was checking in, Sire. I saw that you were in the area."

Eric narrowed his eyes and stared at Bill Compton. "Really. And how exactly did you know I was here?"

"When I left my property I heard that Miss Stackhouse had visitors, and one smelled like a were. I was simply checking in on her as I know she is a valuable asset to you."

Bill Compton hadn't acknowledged my presence at all, and I assumed he knew absolutely nothing about me or my relationship with Eric.

"I told you to stay away from Miss Stackhouse's property, and you will do so. I will see you at Fangtasia as planned at midnight."

Eric stood staring at Bill until he nodded to him and left. "I don't like him," I said to Eric as soon as Bill was out of earshot.

"Neither do I," he almost growled. "But he's good at his job."

"Which is?"

"He is my investigator. You may not like him, but most humans are not threatened by him because he is local to the area and apparently retains some of his nineteenth century manners." I could tell that Eric didn't really believe or understand that. "I don't like that he is snooping around here, and I will be having words with him."

"Can't you just fire him?" I asked.

"I wish I could." Eric pulled me tightly into his arms and breathed in my scent for a moment before releasing me. "As I said, Compton is good at his job, and at the moment he is investigating Fellowship activity in the area."

I felt a cold chill go down my spine at the thought. "But they're just a church group, right? You're not in any danger from them?" I meant to make it a statement, but I failed miserably.

Eric placed a hand on my cheek and met my eyes. "They may portray themselves to the media as just a church group, but we have reason to believe that they are involved in recent attacks on vampire properties."

"That is sick," I snapped. I was sure that Eric wasn't telling me everything, but in all honesty I wasn't sure that I wanted to know.

"It is what I need to talk to Compton about later." I nodded. Eric gave me a dazzling smile, which just made me suspicious. "So how do you like your new guard?"

I narrowed my eyes, but couldn't stay annoyed. "He's better than the last one. And I like Amelia. You trust them both?"

Eric led me away from the house and obviously outside of the area where Tray would be able to hear us. "Yes," he said quietly. "I do. I should have thought about him immediately rather than Herveaux, and the witch is very skilled. I will have her place wards on your property to keep out intruders."

"You know that you should ask people rather than ordering them, right?" I stepped back and raised an eyebrow to Eric.

"They are already in my employment. They will do what I tell them to."

I rolled my eyes, aware that I wasn't going to win that one. "I like them both. And I'm glad you trust them."

Eric raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

I sighed. "When I was talking to them both earlier, Sam put in an appearance." Eric growled lowly to himself and looked mightily pissed off. "He spilled what happened last night, and I had to clarify to both of them that what he said was true." Eric looked murderous. "Look, they know my symptoms, that I have vampire-like tendencies, but they don't know the reason why."

Eric seemed to relax marginally. "They don't know your heritage."

I shook my head. "No."

"I will speak to them, but I believe they can be trusted."

I let out a sigh of relief. I wasn't necessarily scared of Eric being angry at me, as I had no choice, but I was scared that he'd feel the need to imprison or kill Tray and Amelia.

"What of Merlotte? I don't hear him within the house." He regarded me with intensity.

"I did what you suggested. I glamoured him, and he doesn't remember any of it. The only real problem is that Tray and Amelia saw me do that."

"You should not have let them see that."

"I know. But I couldn't help it, I had to do something then and there."

"Fine. I understand." He pulled me into his arms and kissed my head. "I am not angry with you. You have had an eventful day."

I rolled my eyes. "They've all been like that recently!"

Eric came inside with me and spent some time talking to Tray and Amelia. He gave them a very thinly veiled threat about not telling anyone what they knew about me and my skills, and refused to answer when Amelia asked him why I was the way I was. Eric hadn't needed to tell me that I should listen in to both of them, but neither one of them even came close to me being the daughter of a vampire.

I was sure they both would discuss it later, but both of them assumed that Eric had somehow part-turned me. I wasn't sure how that worked, and I was almost amused at their theories of how it could work.

Once they were gone Eric pinned me onto the sofa and kissed me hard. "Are you hungry?"

I wasn't before, but now I thought about it, and with Eric's close proximity, I was hungry. "Yes. Hungry for you." I shifted underneath him to let him know my double meaning.

Before I knew what happened, Eric had picked me up and flown me to my bedroom. "What time will your Gran be home?"

"Not for a few hours."

"Plenty of time," he snarled into my neck as he started pulling off both of our clothes. "I meant what I said, Sookie. I want to wake up with you in my bed. I'm horny when I wake up."

I smiled at him. "You're horny all the time."

"Too true."

He started to kiss down my neck, and I lost all sense of the present as he ran his hands all over me and his skilled mouth sucked on each nipple in turn.

I'd always had my urges, despite being a virgin until I was twenty-five, but I'd never really had much of a craving for sex. Or not until I'd met Eric, anyway. Now I was desperate for him, and I was willing to beg.

"Please."

He pulled back from me to meet my eyes. "Are you sore?"

I wasn't. "No. Not at all. I want you. And I'm hungry."

"You can feed while I'm inside you. Know how good it feels."

Eric moved lower and set to work on making sure that I was more than ready for him. Within minutes my orgasm was coursing out my body, and I moaned and writhed on the bed. Eric had a satisfied smirk on his face when he climbed out from between my legs, and he started to slowly push inside me.

He was being gentle again; kissing me softly and allowing me time to adjust to his size. But my need was greater, and I could feel the lust rolling off him as well. Since my mouth seemed unable of speech, I moved underneath him and dug my fingernails into his lower back to get him to hurry up. Eric's response was to growl and start pushing into me faster, something I only encouraged him to do.

"Bite me, Sookie. Feed."

He didn't need to ask twice, and I sank my fangs into his shoulder and took large mouthfuls of his delicious blood. Eric groaned loudly as I did so, and we both came hard.

"You didn't drink from me," I said to him once we were both lying on our backs, our hands joined and my leg thrown over his.

He sat up to look at me. "I didn't know if you wanted me to."

I smiled. "I did. I like the feel of your fangs in me."

Eric's eyes smouldered at me. Before not too long, he'd indulged my request via another round of very satisfying sex where we bit each other at the same time – something I was definitely a fan of.

"Godric will be here later," Eric told me as he dressed. He hadn't showered and I again knew that was on purpose to piss Bill Compton off. "I have to meet with Pam and Compton to discuss the issue with the Fellowship."

"You know, I could help."

His eyes narrowed on me. "Not going to happen."

"You don't even know my plan!" I snapped back, annoyed that he was dismissing me so easily.

"You're not helping, Sookie. I am not going to put you in the firing line no matter how useful you could be."

"I'm a telepath, Eric. And I can go out in daylight. And that's not to mention the fact that I can glamour humans!"

"Sookie, I am not putting you in any danger. I am not involving you with this. And before you say it, Godric will only agree with me." I involuntarily growled at Eric, who raised an eyebrow at my outburst. "I appreciate your offer Sookie, and if you weren't who you were, a telepath would be very useful. But I am not going to risk your safety."

He pulled me tightly into his arms and kissed the top of my head. "I can so this."

"I know you could. But Sookie, I am falling for you hard, and I am not going to let any harm come to you. So I'm certainly not going to risk your life to spy on them. I'm sorry, but it's not going to happen."

I sighed and relaxed into his hard, cool body. "I wish you would."

"I won't."

"Fine," I said with resignation.

"It's only because I care, lover. And now I must go. I hope to see you again before sunup. Call me if you need anything."

I kissed him goodbye before sitting down heavily on my bed. Sure, he wasn't going to tell me anything, but that didn't mean I couldn't go on a recon mission on my own.

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><p>.<p>

**So, Tray and Amelia know about Sookie's skills, and she glamoured Sam. But what of the Fellowship? Is Bill trustworthy? Is Sookie going to go behind Eric's back in the daylight hours?**

**I'd love to know your thoughts.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry for posting a day late. And thanks to everyone who is reading this.**

**Without further ado….**

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><p><strong>Lux Æterna – Chapter 14<strong>

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><p><strong>Eric<strong>

After a quick phone call, I flew quickly to Fangtasia and arrived there only a few minutes after I'd arranged to meet Compton, Pam and Godric. Godric raised an eyebrow when I entered, although he'd blocked the bond so I couldn't feel his emotions. He was either amused that I'd turned up late and smelling of Sookie because I would be pissing Compton off, or he was annoyed that I smelt of his daughter.

I was hoping it was the former.

But still, Compton had the good sense to not say anything about my tardiness, although I was almost challenging him to raise the issue. Pam just rolled her eyes, her humour present.

"Firstly, Compton," I started, more for Godric's ears than anyone else's, "and unless I say otherwise, you will stay away from Sookie Stackhouse. You will not go near her property. She is under my protection, and if you don't adhere to my ruling, I will try you for treason."

Godric's eyes were on Compton as well, and despite his block on me, some of his anger towards the young vampire was slipping through, even if he didn't show it on his face.

"Of course, sire," Bill replied, showing that he wasn't as stupid as I hoped him to be.

"And I don't need to remind you that you will not tell any other being, alive or undead, about what you know of her."

He bowed his head to me, obviously hearing and understanding my threat. "I have not told anyone, and I will not."

"You had better not."

As Pam was sitting on the leather sofa with Godric, I moved to sit behind her desk and placed my boots on the desk. I could feel her displeasure at my action, but my body language was designed to make Compton feel uncomfortable as he was the only one standing, and he knew better than to take a seat without my permission.

"Report on the Fellowship activity," I told him, my eyes trained steadily on his.

Compton unnecessarily cleared his throat. "There was been seven attacks on vampire property in the last month. All of the vampires attacked were made in the last twenty years or so and their makers were not close by to guide them."

"They were sloppy," I stated.

Compton nodded. "They didn't have adequate security and were lax in letting humans know where they lived. I believe that the Fellowship have humans who go to vampire bars and let themselves become known to vampires. Obviously the vampires have not glamoured these humans well enough as the humans have learned the location of their resting places."

This worried me, and I had a feeling there was more to come from Compton. "Go on."

"In most of the cases the vampires were either managed to escape or were killed by the humans. However there are two vampires unaccounted for."

"Have their makers been informed?" Unless the ties had been cut irrevocably, a maker could normally find one of their own vampires, particularly if that vampire was calling out to them.

Bill paused a moment before shaking his head. "Neither one of the vampires had living – or undead – makers."

That piece of information fell heavy in the room. Godric stood up, a look of grave concern on his face. "I cannot accept that it is an accident that the two vampires they took were the ones who had no living maker. The ones that were killed?"

"All had makers," Compton told him.

I stood up and joined Godric who looked up to me and spoke to me in my native language. "The Fellowship cannot know this information on their own. I do not believe in coincidences and I find it deeply disturbing that the two that have been taken have no way of being tracked."

I agreed with him completely and turned back to Compton. "Keep investigating. I want to know everything there is to know about all the vampires who have been attacked, killed or taken. I want their addresses, where they went, who they fed on and their shoe size if it is relevant." I paused to appraise Compton. I didn't like the vampire, but as I had said to Sookie, he was good at his job. "You have done well so far, Compton. If you keep it up I will reward you."

"I would like to go back to the court in New Orleans," he told me with a bow of his head. I wouldn't normally have allowed such an open request to be granted, but then it would keep him further away from Sookie and I had plenty of trusted vampires who could keep a close eye on him in New Orleans.

"I will allow that if I am satisfied with your work. Now go – I want an update from you in my inbox by the end of each night. If you need anything, report to Pam."

I felt her displeasure, and once Compton was out of the room, Pam turned to me. "No offence, Eric, but is really the right vampire for the job?"

I understood her concerns. "He is a good investigator. But he is not the only one I have asked to look into this. What Compton didn't mention is that the attacks are spread out across the state. I do not believe that the Fellowship realise how organised we are, and I intend to speak to our neighbouring states to see if they have had attacks as well. Rasul down in New Orleans has a team looking into this, and I intend on having him keep an eye on Compton."

Pam sniggered. "Compton won't like being told to work with Rasul."

"No, he won't. But that is precisely what I will be telling him to do very shortly. This is proving to be bigger than I first realised." I turned to face my child. "Rasul already knows, but speak to the other sheriffs and spread word of what is happening. I do not want widespread panic, but we are under attack, certainly here in Louisiana, and we need to remain vigilant without tipping off the enemy that we know."

"I will do." Pam nodded her head and went to the smaller office next door to make the calls.

"I have concerns about Sookie," I told Godric in a low voice when we were alone.

My maker raised an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?" he growled.

I smiled a little. "Not those kind of concerns. I told Sookie about the attacks on vampires and she wishes to help."

"You told her of the Fellowship activity?" Godric asked with an accusing tone and a hard look in his eyes.

"I do not wish to lie to her," I said as calmly as I could.

"You still need to watch what she hears. I will not let you put her in danger."

I ground my teeth together to stop myself from saying what I wanted to say to him. "And I told her because she too needs to remain safe. I have already arranged for Tray Dawson and his witch girlfriend to guard Sookie. The witch is placing wards on her property, and it seems the two girls have already started to form a friendship."

"So what is your problem?"

"Sookie wishes to help. She feels that as she can go out in the daylight and read minds she will be able to infiltrate the Fellowship."

Godric's growl was low, and there was a distinct danger pouring off him. "She will not. And I repeat that you shouldn't have told her."

"I told her for her own safety," I snapped back. "She is innocent and naïve to the horrors of this world, and she knows little of vampire society. I am not going to tell her everything; she doesn't need to know that. But I will tell her enough." I paced for a moment before turning back to Godric. "And she will be safe. I will not let her do anything that will endanger her safety. I have already called Dawson to let him know of her plans, and authorised him and the witch to use whatever force they feel necessary to protect her."

Godric didn't agree with me. "Irrelevant," he snapped. "You have endangered her by giving her this information. You have admitted that she wants to help – that is not going to keep her safe in the long run even if she does nothing now."

"I still believe it is best that she knows."

"You are wrong."

Godric exerted his superior strength over me, and pushed me down onto my knees, his Maker's command stopping me from climbing back up again.

"Um … guys…"

It was Pam's voice from the door, and Godric answered her without looking away from me. "Not the time, Pamela."

Pam didn't go away. "You really need to stop trying to kill each other. You have a visitor."

"Whoever it is can wait," Godric barked out as he increased his grip on my shoulder.

"I don't believe I will," a new voice added.

Godric instantly let go of my shoulder and looked to the door. I had recognised the voice to belong to the Ancient Pythoness, and I stood up as soon as I was able to, only to bow to the Lady as she entered the room.

"Your child has more manners than you, Godric," she said in a tone that meant business. Godric lowered his head to the ancient vampire.

"My lady," he said respectfully with a nod of his head.

We both moved aside so the Lady, her two handmaidens and three guards could enter the room. It meant that it was a little crowded, and Pam remained hovering by the door once she'd shut it behind her. Pythia sat down in the chair facing the desk, but turned it so that she was facing us. It seemed that despite her blindness, her other senses were fantastic and she knew exactly where everyone was. Her handmaidens were standing on either side of her, and her guards looming ominously the other side of that, with one of them stationed at the door next to Pam.

"Sit," she commanded, and both Godric and I instantly obeyed her, sitting side by side on the leather sofa.

"My Lady, I am honoured by your presence," Godric told her, although I could feel his apprehension at her visit since he'd let go of the bond

"I am sure you are," she told him. "And by your child's lack of surprise, I assume he knows of our relationship."

"You are correct, although I do not believe that Pamela knows."

The Lady turned to face Pam, who let her emotions control her for a split second as shock appeared on her face. It was probably the first time I'd seen her lose her mask since she'd been a young vampire.

"She may know."

Godric turned to me to do the introduction. "My lady, this is my only child Pamela. Pam, the Lady Pythia is Godric's maker." I felt her surprise through the bond, but an element of wariness as well which she was quite right to possess. None of us knew the reason that the Ancient Pythoness had chosen to grace us with her presence, although I feared that it was to do with. Pam bowed her head to the ancient vampire.

"How can I help you, my Lady," I said after a few moments of silence. I was King after all, which meant that she was in my state. However, I was pretty damn sure I knew exactly why she was here.

"You have a biological child," she said to Godric before turning to me. "And you have bonded to her."

"Not in the traditional sense," I told her with a bow of my head. "A normal blood bond has not formed between us."

"But something else has? Something deeper?" I nodded, not really sure that I could put a label on the relationship Sookie and I shared. "Miss Stackhouse is an important factor in what is to come. She must above all else be kept safe."

I felt a jolt of what could only be described as 'I told you so' from Godric, but the Lady had not finished and obviously knew exactly what was on Godric's mind.

"Don't be childish," she scolded my maker. "There should be no war between the two of you over your daughter's safety. You must work together for her as she has the potential for greatness."

Godric nodded his head to her. "Of course. My child and I are bound to clash over the way to handle Sookie, and she herself is a strong and free-spirited woman." He paused for a moment. "You said that she is an important factor in what is to come … if I may ask, what is to come?"

"A war is coming, and without her a huge number of vampires may die. Trust her instincts, even over your own. She has the ability to be hugely powerful, and Northman's blood will only make her stronger."

With that, the Lady stood up. "Can I get you someone to eat before you leave, my Lady?"

"No, I have already eaten."

We all walked with the Ancient Pythoness to her large armoured vehicle, which looked hugely out of place in the parking lot of Fangtasia. Several humans noticed her, although they were quickly glamoured by one of the guards before they climbed into the large vehicle and tore out of the lot.

I simply looked to Godric who nodded his head to indicate that we should go back inside. We both fed on wiling donors (male for me, although that didn't stop the man from grabbing my ass before I restrained him) before we met back in Pam's office.

"So we must trust Sookie," I commented as I met Godric's stare. "Do you think that means we should trust her instincts regarding the Fellowship?"

"As that is precisely what we were arguing about when the Lady arrived, I suspect that is the case. She is not one for arriving at an inappropriate moment, so I would assume that is what she was referring to."

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. "I do not wish to risk her safety, you know that. And I hate that we cannot be with her during the daylight hours, but that is when she must seek them out if she is to do so."

Godric looked thoughtful, and we both remained silent for a moment or two. "You have meetings this night?"

"Regrettably I do. Although I can possibly cancel at least one of them…" In truth, all the meetings I had needed my attendance, but I knew how important this was.

"I will speak to her. She is expecting me anyway, and it's probably better that she feels we're not ganging up on her."

"Very true," I said with a smile. We had both come to learn the ways of Sookie Stackhouse in the few months that we had known her, and we knew all too well that she didn't appreciate that two of us telling her what to do. "I am meeting with an architect at four a.m. to discuss light proofing my whole house, but I should be able to visit Sookie before sundown."

Godric stood and nodded before leaving Fangtasia and heading to Bon Temps.

.

**Sookie**

After Eric left, I immediately loaded up my laptop and opened the internet browser to start reading all I could about The Fellowship of the Sun Church. I'd looked before when vampires had first made their presence known, but I was shocked to see how much the websites had changed. They were incredibly anti-vampire, although I was sure that if they knew of the existence of other supernatural beings they'd hate them just as much. In fact, I got the feeling that if they knew Santa Claus or the tooth fairy were real they'd no doubt start a hate group.

They were human elitists and seemed to be advocating the destruction and murder of all vampires, albeit in a friendly, fluffy and non-threatening way. It may me feel sick, and I was sure that even if I didn't know Godric and Eric, I'd still not approve of what they were doing. The problem was that I knew all too well how small-minded many humans were, and I knew that they'd easily buy into this kind of propaganda.

What I did discover, was that although they had a strong foothold in Texas and Mississippi, they weren't hugely established in Louisiana. They had no actual church buildings other than a small one in New Orleans, but they seemed to still have meetings – always during the day – and one of them was is Monroe, a twenty or so minute drive from my home in Bon Temps.

I knew that it wouldn't be a good idea to use my real name, so I started jotting down a new persona to use. Sure, I wouldn't have any ID, but I hoped that they wouldn't ask that question, and if that went well, I was sure that I could get fake ID. Jason certainly had some shifty friends who no doubt 'knew people' that could get me a fake ID. And, if necessary, I could glamour Jason into forgetting what I'd asked him.

So, I invented Anna Lynn Patterson, aged 25 from Shreveport. Anna Lynn was a librarian, whose parents had died when she was young and was raised by her Gran. She had no siblings, but an ex-boyfriend of hers called Eric had been bitten by a vampire and had tried to attack her once he was a vampire.

I tried to keep some things close to the truth in case I slipped up at all, and I spent time inventing stories about Anna Lynn that were loosely based on my own life. I also practiced her accent – an exaggerated version of my own – and I planned an outfit of a dark blue flower print dress and matching pumps. It wasn't something I tended to wear often, but I had worn it to church on a few occasions so it seemed appropriate.

I was finally done when there was a knock on my window. As I was on the second storey of the house, it could only be a vampire hovering out there. I opened it up and let Godric slip in as gracefully as ever.

"How are you, Sookie?" he asked sitting down on my bed.

"I'm good, thanks. Have you been in a meeting?" I didn't want to mention the matter of the Fellowship outright, but I'd have been interested to get any info out from him.

"Yes, Eric and I have had an interesting meeting."

"Good…" I was hoping he'd expand, but he wasn't biting the hook I fed him. "What's interesting?"

He let out an uncharacteristic sigh. "Sookie, we know what you have planned." I tried to look guiltless, but I wasn't sure I managed it as his statement caught me off guard.

"Planned?" I said as innocently as possible.

Godric smiled a kind smile. "I can smell your deceit, Sookie. You're still human enough for that."

The smile dropped off my face at his declaration. "What?"

Godric pulled me down next to him and wrapped a fatherly arm around me. It was the first time I'd really felt like he was being fatherly towards me in that sense.

"Eric is over one thousand years old. He knew that you were planning to seek out the local Fellowship group, and no doubt go alone. Am I right?"

As he was obviously able to tell if I was lying, I stuck to the truth. "Yeah, you are."

He sighed. "Sookie, we both want and need you to be safe, and going after people who can only be described as terrorists on your own is not going to happen. Eric had already called Tray Dawson to keep a very close eye on you before he'd even left Bon Temps and authorised him to use whatever force was necessary."

I huffed to myself and Godric chuckled. "He only did it because he cares."

"I know. But I want to help, and I'm the perfect one to do so. It's not as if I'm unable to defend myself either. I can glamour them, I've always been stronger than other people as well. And Eric can track me if I did get into trouble."

"We'd hope that it didn't get to that, Sookie." He ran his hand over his short brown hair and looked a little stressed for some reason. "But you're right; you are the person for the job."

I stared at him in disbelief. I'd expected to be shouted at by him and Eric, so him admitting that was out of leftfield. Was he going to let me do it?

"I am?"

"Yes, you are for all the reasons you listed. And obviously, your telepathy will be hugely useful. But you are not going alone, and you're not doing it tomorrow. We need to prepare you, and both Tray and Amelia will be able to do that along with Eric and I tomorrow night."

"Do you want me to pretend to be Tray's girlfriend?"

He shrugged. "It's an option. Or the three of you can go in together – you could always be the younger sister of Amelia. Both of them can look after themselves and you."

"So why not tomorrow?"

"Because we'd like to spend some time training you. I will leave a message with Dawson to get things started, but you are not doing this unless Eric and I are completely satisfied that you will be able to defend yourself if required. Do you promise me that you will work with us on this one?"

I wasn't able to lie to Godric, and if I was honest, I welcomed the help of Tray and Amelia over going in alone. "Sure, I promise I won't."

He looked a little relieved. "Good. So what were you up to when I got here?" He had a knowing smile on his lips and I rolled my eyes like a teenager.

I went through all I'd thought of in inventing my new persona, and with his help set about inventing new identities for Tray and Amelia as well. Godric assured me that Tray would have no problem in obtaining the ID to back our stories up, and typed a long email to Tray with details of the new plan. I'd asked him what led to the sudden change of heart in allowing me to help, but he was suitably vague about specifics and I didn't push him on it.

"I'd like for you to take my blood," Godric announced after we'd been brainstorming for a few hours and it was getting closer to dawn.

"Are you sure? Is it safe?" I was a little sceptical considering the doctor had said I shouldn't have his blood during my transition.

"Yes. I checked with Ludwig and she has no reason why you shouldn't take my blood. However if you are willing, we will wait until Eric gets here before we do it. It means that I too would be able to track you if my blood is inside you, and my blood is old and powerful."

"I think that's a good idea," Eric said announcing his arrival as he slipped in through the open window.

I immediately stood up to greet him and he pulled me close into his chest, his arms wrapping tightly around me as he buried his head into my hair. I rested my head on his chest, but grabbed his ass with my hand wrapping around his body.

He stepped back and smiled at me, placing a chaste kiss on my lips. "Careful, I don't want you to get in trouble with your dad." He winked at me as we both looked to Godric who seemed mildly amused at our antics.

"Why do I get the feeling that the two of you are going to cause me no end of trouble?"

"Me?" Eric and I both said at the same time. Godric simply shook his head and I sat down in Eric's lap on the bed.

"I think it is a good idea, though," Eric said, his voice becoming more serious. "Godric's blood is powerful; you would be much stronger from taking it."

"Okay, as long as you're okay with it." I met Eric's eyes to see no hesitation. His blue eyes were bright and intense, and I found myself becoming a little lost in them.

Godric interrupted our moment. "Let's do this, then, and I will take my leave."

We all agreed, and Godric bit into his arm while I remained sitting in Eric's lap, his arm tightly around my waist with my back to his chest. I immediately latched onto Godric's arm and took a large mouthful, my fangs biting into his arm to open the wound wider. His blood was thicker and sweeter than Eric's and I hungrily drank at his arm, my hands clutching at him to keep his arm in place.

I had to admit that the taste of Godric's blood was quite intoxicating, and I could feel Eric getting hard underneath me as I squirmed in his lap. After I'd obviously had enough of his blood, Godric wrenched his arm away from me, but Eric somehow managed to grab hold of him and take a quick mouthful of his blood.

I was unable to see Eric's face, but I could feel that he was turned on, and see the look on Godric's face. It made me a little uncomfortable knowing their past, but I also knew how vampires were when it came to blood. Godric allowed Eric to lick the wound clean and seal his wounds, before he placed a gentle kiss on my forehead and left the room.

I didn't have chance to dwell on what had happened between the three of us before Eric was on me and pulling at my clothes. I was more than willing to be dominated by him, and allowed my own hands to roam over his firmly muscled body. It took all of my willpower to not cry out loudly at Eric's glorious assault on me, as the last thing I wanted to do was wake up Gran.

When I was good and ready for him, Eric plunged into me, his teeth sinking into my neck at the same time as he took large mouthfuls of my blood. I groaned loudly, feeling my body orgasm and clamp down around him as he pushed skilfully inside me. As soon as I was able to, I sank my fangs into his neck, taking more of his delicious blood and letting his power mingle inside of me along with the blood I'd taken from Godric.

The sex was frantic and needy, and I was more than aware that I'd almost torn up Eric's back from clawing at him. It was just a good job that within minutes he'd completely healed.

"I'm sorry," Eric said to me after a few minutes of me snuggling into his chest. "That wasn't appropriate of me."

I say up a little to meet his eyes. "You were affected by Godric's blood."

He nodded. "I have not fed from my maker for a very long time, and with you in my arms I got a little carried away."

"It's okay, I understand."

And I did. I couldn't deny that it was strange when I thought about Eric and Godric having that kind of relationship, but then they had known each other for a thousand years before I was even born, so they were bound to have a history.

"Thank you," he said kissing me gently. "I would not like you to resent either Godric or myself."

"I couldn't. I love you both."

I didn't quite realise what I had said until it came out. But it was true, I loved Godric like a father or brother, but I loved Eric as my partner and lover.

Eric smiled and pushed me back down onto the bed, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I love you too," he told me before doing his best to make me wake up Gran.

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><p><strong>So… Eric saw straight through Sookie's plans, but it is better that she'll be working with Tray and Amelia? And what of the AP's predictions?<strong>

**I'd love to know your thoughts.**

**;)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing this fic. It keeps me motivated!**

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><p><strong>Lux Æterna – Chapter 15<strong>

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><p>I was sure that somehow I'd woken up in an Ian Fleming novel.<p>

I'd spent the day with Amelia and Tray learning self-defence from the werewolf and a little basic magic from Amelia. I had to admit to be surprised that I was able to perform _any_ magic, but Eric had told Amelia that I had a witch ancestor, and Amelia had stated that if it was in my blood than I'd probably have the ability to be a witch, or at least perform a few spells. I wasn't sure whether my Fae ancestry would count for anything, but Eric hadn't divulged that information to Amelia.

However, I think my skill surpassed Amelia's expectations, and although I wasn't performing any kind of tricks that Harry Potter would be proud of, I was able to use simple magic to unlock doors – something that could prove hugely useful if I was to need it. Amelia also stated that she was more than happy to teach me other acts when we had the time.

But it was the gadgets that Eric and Tray were showing me that made me feel I'd walked into a James Bond novel, with Tray playing a significantly larger and less geeky version of Q.

"This," Tray was explaining, "will fit inside your bra and no one would know it was there." He was showing Amelia and I a small gadget made of tough and sharp plastic that could be used as a weapon if necessary, or for cutting through ropes. Obviously, Tray had never worn a bra before because both Amelia and I knew that there normally wasn't much room in a bra for such a device, but I appreciated the sentiment.

We'd also been given watches that held microscopic tracking devices that could be turned on in the event of something happening to us, and remarkably they were actually nice watches that didn't look out of place with my church-going outfit.

Both Godric and Eric went through the plan with Amelia, Tray and I until we were bored of it and I insisted that the other two went home to sleep, as they didn't have my ability to stay awake all night.

When they had gone, Eric drove us from the warehouse where we'd been training back to his house in Shreveport. When we were safely inside, Godric came up to me and pulled me into his arms. After hugging me tightly he pulled back and placed a kiss on my forehead.

"Be careful, Sookie. I know you want to do this, and unfortunately you are the best opportunity we have for spying on the Fellowship in this area. But it is beyond a miracle that I have you, and I do not intend to lose you."

I smiled at him as he stood in front of me only an inch or two taller. "I will be careful, and I believe that they wouldn't harm a human." Eric let out a grumble, which suggested he didn't agree with my hunch. "And I really do appreciate you two helping me like this. Tray and Amelia as well."

He sighed and ran his hand over his short hair. "It's better this than you going in alone without any backup. You know what to do if you encounter trouble, and stay vigilant."

"I will do."

He nodded. "Good. And if you don't, I'm not beyond putting you over my knee." He said it with a smile so I knew he didn't mean it, but I caught a distinct twinkle in Eric's eyes. Godric turned to him and shook his head. "I'd like you to take my blood once more. It will heighten my sense of you and give you additional strength."

I agreed with him and appreciated his offer. Eric again pulled me close to him as we sat down on the comfortable leather sofa with me sat in between his legs and his arm tightly around my midriff. This time, Godric allowed me to bite into his arm myself, and I felt my fangs tingle with anticipation and hunger at the thought of feeding from him again.

I carefully bit into my father's arm, my tongue savouring the taste of his ancient blood, and an involuntary moan slipping from my lips as I hungrily sucked on the wound. It was truly divine and I'd have happily drunk every drop had Eric not prised me away from his maker's arm. When I tried to snap at him he chuckled darkly but remained holding on tight to me while nuzzling his face into my neck.

"Sorry," I whispered to Godric once I felt myself get under control again.

"Do not worry. That was bloodlust, and as you are so young, it was to be expected." Eric released me from his hold and I went over to Godric to let him hold me once more. I had begun to feel a great kinship with him, which I'd never have expected to do so quickly, but I really was beginning to see him as my father even though he looked several years younger than me.

"I will be careful, I promise."

"I know you will. And you know how to contact us if things don't go well." He paused to stare at me for a moment. "I will see you tomorrow night."

I nodded and he kissed me once more before leaving the house after he'd had a few words with Eric out on the porch.

"Are you okay?" I asked Eric when he came back in. He had a troubled look on his face, which contrasted, greatly to his normal self-assured smirk.

"I do not like not being in control, Sookie. And there is nothing I will be able to do tomorrow during the daylight to help you. I am out of my depth and I do not like it. I wish that you were not doing this."

I slowly walked up to him and wrapped my arm around his muscled waist, placing my head on his chest. I breathed in his dry, earthy scent and relaxed against him. His arms came around me as well and we held each other for a few minutes before I pulled back.

"I promise that I will be careful, Eric. I will listen in to everyone, and if anyone so much as thinks we may be suspicious I will pull us out of there. I will not risk myself, Tray or Amelia. I have just found you and Godric, and for the first time in my life I feel that I am somewhere I belong." I leaned up and placed a kiss on his lips. "I have fallen in love with you, Eric. I'm not going anywhere."

Eric growled to himself and pushed me into the nearest wall, not concerned at all that he'd knocked over a vase in his haste to get me against a level surface – even if it was a vertical as opposed to horizontal one.

Eric was certainly in a passionate mood, and my clothes were literally ripped from me, as Eric had no patience for undoing them. It made me glad that I was still wearing the loose sweats I'd worn for my self-defence training with Tray. Eric's own clothes followed much the same pattern, and his jeans were violently kicked off his legs and shoved aside.

All the while, Eric's lips hadn't left me as he kissed my lips before trailing wet and cool kisses down my neck to my newly exposed breasts. I could feel the tips of his fangs grazing my skin which gave me shudders of pleasure.

"I can't be patient," Eric growled into my skin as he sucked at my nipple. "I need you."

He punctuated his point by rubbing his steel hard erection against my belly and sliding two long fingers inside me. I was more than ready for him, and after pumping me a few times, Eric withdrew his fingers and licked them off seductively, his eyes set on mine as he did so.

"I need you too," I whispered as seductively as I could into his ear, and before I had chance to think, Eric's body was against me, lifting me up against the wall so that the tip of his penis was nudging my swollen clit.

In one fluid move, Eric slid into me, and I cried out with both pleasure and need. It was rougher than he had been before with me before, but it was exactly what I needed. The want in Eric's eyes was intoxicating, and he held me closely to him as he slowly but surely pumped into me. All the time his lips were tasting and kissing me, and I felt like the most important woman in the world.

As the angle that Eric was hitting was just right, I came hard after not too long, my inner walls clamping down hard onto him and milking his own orgasm from him. Eric remained holding me in that position for a minute or so as I slowly came back down onto earth, his lips kissing my neck and running his fangs along my skin.

"Are you okay? I didn't mean to be so rough with you."

I shook my head and smiled. "I'm more than okay. That was incredible. Thank you."

He sighed into my skin. "You are so delicate, Sookie, I am concerned that I will hurt you if I let go."

"You're more than welcome to try … I'd tell you if you did anything that hurt me." I placed a hand on his cheek. "But what I am right now is hot and sweaty … do you fancy a shower?"

Eric grinned and carried me downstairs to his bedroom. We had another round of steamy sex in the shower before Eric dried us both off and we climbed into bed, exhausted, a few minutes before dawn. I could see that Eric really was bothered by me going alone into the Fellowship and hated that he wasn't able to control the situation once dead for the day.

"I will be careful, Eric. I promise you."

He sighed and pulled me on top of him. "You had better be. I don't intend on losing you now."

"You won't."

"You will be here when the sun sets?"

I nodded. "I will be."

We kissed for a while before I could tell that Eric was fighting the rise of the sun and I rolled off him to allow him to sleep.

I wasn't too sure that I would be able to sleep, and I'd kept my own concerns deeply buried around my two vampires. But I evidently, I managed to get a few hours' kip as I woke around half eleven in the morning. Eric was still in the same position, and I rearranged the bedding so that he was covered. It was a pointless move considering he didn't feel the cold or have any sensation while asleep, but it made me feel better.

I took a shower and changed into the outfit I'd brought with me to wear to the church meeting. I was feeling too nervous to want to eat, but I managed some toast and butter and watched TV while waiting for Tray and Amelia. At the designated time, my cell phone rang to announce their arrival, and I went outside to meet my comrades.

And I couldn't help myself from laughing at Tray's outfit.

Amelia looked great in a long-sleeved pale yellow dress that portrayed a sunny mood, but Tray looked ridiculous in beige slacks and a crisp white shirt. It was a huge contrast to the normal black he tended to wear, and his freshly shaved face just finished off the look.

"Don't," he growled at me, but I didn't stop from laughing, and it at least lightened my mood. "I don't believe I look like this. You are to tell no one."

Amelia slapped him on the arm. "Honey, this is soooooo going on Facebook when we've finished this."

"Don't you dare," he growled, taking off after her as she fled from him.

The three of us had a few minutes horsing around before we sobered and climbed into my SUV. We ran through the plan one last time on the journey to Monroe and arrived a few minutes before we were due to meet at the church.

We all plastered fake smiles onto our faces and climbed out of the vehicle. There were a good number of vehicles already in the parking lot of the small church, with several people milling around outside the red brick building even though it wasn't exactly warm. Amelia and Tray clasped hands, and I walked to her side since I was pretending to be her cousin.

When we got to the entrance of the church, we were greeted by a friendly man in a well-fitting dark blue suit with dark hair and kind smiley eyes. I hated him the moment I saw him. To his left was an attractive blonde woman in an expensive pale pink suit and a smile as fake as mine plastered onto her face.

"Welcome," the man said, holding out his hand to us. "My name is Reverend Steve Newlin, and this is my beautiful wife, Sarah." The man had an exaggerated Texan accent that didn't fit with his mind-voice, and I could tell even without my 'gift' that things were not as great as they portrayed between these two.

We hadn't expected Steve and Sarah Newlin to be at this meeting, and it was quite a coup for us that he was there. I just hoped that I could get something interesting from him.

Tray took the lead and shook Steve's hand with a firm grip before introducing Amelia and I. "Nice to meet you, Steve. My name is Jackson Harper. This is my fiancée Jessie Patterson and her cousin Anna Lynn."

Both Amelia and I smiled as we shook his and then Sarah's hand. I lowered my shields as I touched them both, and neither one of them had any suspicion of the newcomers, in fact, they hoped that we had other friends we could bring along as they hoped to build a new church in Northern Louisiana.

"So what brings you to our church?" Sarah asked us all as she led us into the warmth of the building.

I took a deep shuddering breath in an attempt to win the Academy Award for Best Actress, and Amelia placed her arm around me.

"I saw an advert for your group in the paper, and did a little reading up myself." I paused for dramatic effect, pleased that both Sarah and Steve seemed to be buying my overacting. "My ex-boyfriend … Eric …Well, he was my boyfriend at the time. He was bitten by one of … them."

Sarah gave me a pitying look. "And then what?"

"They turned him. He became a v…" I broke down on saying the word, real tears managing to slide from my eyes.

Amelia hugged me into her side and carried on the story. "He was turned into a vampire but wanted to carry on dating her. He was so possessive of her, but kept on sleeping with other women and biting them." Amelia gave me a tight squeeze. "Anna Lynn didn't tell us straight away – she was too ashamed, but when he tried to attack her she had to."

"What happened to this vampire?" Steve asked with obvious glee.

I took a deep breathe. "I staked him," I stated.

Steve smiled. "You did the right thing, Anna Lynn. Vampires are evil. They are Unholy creatures who should be wiped from God's earth." Steve was starting to raise his voice, and Sarah placed a calming hand on his arm.

"All three of you are welcome here. You are with friends."

Her sickly sweet voice made me want to throw up, but I grinned and bared it, all the while listening into the people in the room. The meeting was more like a therapy group of hate than a church meeting, with people encouraged to tell their stories and their hatred of vampires. The hatred in the room made me sick, and I had to fight against my own fangs sliding down at times.

Everyone in the room certainly did hate vampires, and many had violent thoughts towards them, but it was only Steve and Sarah that were planning bigger things. Most of the people in the room were guided by their fear of the unknown, and were therefore innocent participants in Steve Newlin's propaganda.

By the end of the meeting, I was ready to kill, and it was taking a lot of effort to keep my calm, smiley mask in place. Amelia escorted me to the SUV and Tray drove us off in silence once we'd promised to come back the next week. Not one of us said a word until we were a few miles out of Monroe and Tray drove off the road to a marked beauty spot.

Eric had been insisted that we checked the vehicle for bugs before we said anything about the meeting, and Tray did a thorough inspection of both us and the car. I didn't say a word until he gave us the thumbs up, and when he did I let out a frustrated scream.

"That good, huh?" Amelia asked me.

"I thought the people in Bon Temps were small-minded, but those people are ridiculous." We all climbed back into the SUV and headed back to Shreveport. "And Steve Newlin is definitely one to watch. He has visions of himself as some kind of action figure in the Holy fight against vampires. The smiley routine is all for show, he was there to identify men and women that he can train to join an army he's creating."

"Fuck," Amelia let out.

"Quite. It seems that Texas is the hub of his organisation, and things are going well there. They have this 'Light of Day Institute' in Texas that pretends to be a leadership conference, but is simply a training facility. And what's more, Newlin wants to start a training facility in Louisiana, and he's close to buying a large property nearby for that purpose."

"Do you know where?"

I shook my head. "Unfortunately not. And he was thinking of a few different locations for the place so I doubt I'd be able to identify anything."

"Shit, this is worse than I imagined," Tray grumbled. "Eric is not going to be happy."

"No, he isn't," I agreed. But at least we had all managed to get in and out without difficulty. The problem was that we were expected back and had promised to attend the church the next week as well.

The three of us were all lost in our thoughts as we drove back to Shreveport, and Amelia and Tray dropped me off at Eric's house before heading back to their own love nest.

As promised, I showered and then climbed into bed with Eric, who was laying in the same position that I'd left him in. I sent a quick text message to Godric which he would no doubt read when he woke, and snuggled into Eric's side, surprised when I felt myself drifting off to sleep.

..

**Eric**

As soon as my mind and body began to show signs of reanimation, my thoughts were on Sookie. I couldn't deny that I had been scared for the first time in my long life at the thought of her going in unarmed against terrorists. I hated that I had no control.

But almost as soon as those thoughts entered my mind, I was aware of the woman in question curled up against my side, her mouth-watering scent filling me and making me deliriously happy that she had come back in one piece.

I knew that I should let her sleep, but I wanted to check her over to make sure that she was truly unharmed. I therefore turned the bedside light on and slowly lifted the sheets she must have laid over me, and looked over her delicious and naked body. When I was happy that there was no sign of injury, other parts of me started to awaken, and I remembered how I had told her that I wanted her in my bed when I woke. And the reality was every bit as good as I had remembered it to be.

Sookie obviously noticed my movement, as she slowly opened her beautiful blue eyes and looked up at me with a smile on her face.

"Told you I'd be here," she said before climbing up my body and placing a kiss on my lips.

I pulled her naked body on top of me and allowed my hands to run over her body of their own free will.

"You're okay?"

"I'm fine. We all are." I let out a sigh of relief.

"I was worried."

"I know," she said with a gentle smile.

"I love you."

"I know that as well."

I couldn't hold back any more, so I rolled us both over so that I was on top of her and began to worship her body. I moved at near vampire speed as my hands sought to consume her, and I revelled in the moans and groans of pleasure that she was making. I was achingly hard for her, but I wanted to make sure she was well prepared for me, as I knew that I wasn't able to be gentle with her.

I relocated my lips between her legs and began to lap up what she was offering. My eyes, however, remained on Sookie's, although she had to be reminded of that rule several times when her head shot back in pleasure. Her hands in my hair told me how much she was enjoying herself, and I imagined that she'd probably manage to pull quite a chunk out by the time I had finished with her.

Once I had tasted her on my tongue, I pulled back and stared down at her. She was achingly beautiful, with golden skin, soft womanly curves, great breasts and luscious, thick naturally blonde hair. I knew that I'd never want anyone else, and I'd do all I could to keep her with me as long as possible.

"Eric, I need you."

I smiled down at her and gave her just as she had asked. I slid easily inside her, somehow managing to pause briefly to allow her to adjust before I started steadily pumping into her. From the way she was beginning to cry out in pleasure and her nails digging into my back, it was clear that she was without doubt enjoying herself.

Once she'd had her second orgasm, and I could feel mine growing close, I bit gently into her neck. I allowed her space to bit me as well, and when she did I came hard inside her. We fed mutually from each other for a few seconds before I withdrew and let her carry on. I didn't need her blood for sustenance as she needed mine, so I was always careful of taking too much from her.

By the time we'd climbed out of bed, showered and got changed, Godric was at the house and met us in the living room. We both fed from willing donors while Sookie made herself a meal with eggs, potatoes and meat.

Godric was obviously as relieved at Sookie's safety as I was, but we were both anxious to know what she had discovered while there. When Sookie joined us in the living room, she was obviously anxious, which didn't put either one of us at ease.

Neither one of us interrupted her while she recounted the story of what had happened during the day. It was certainly a surprise that she had met Steve Newlin. The man's father, Reverend Theodore Newlin, had apparently been killed by vampires the previous year, although no one would have been surprised if that wasn't the case. It was just the excuse that Newlin used to hate vampires so much.

Once she'd finished, I took an unnecessary breath and looked to Godric. "We need to speak to our neighbours. This is bigger than just us and we are going to need to cooperate."

Godric nodded in agreement. "Stan won't be a problem, I will speak to him." Godric was still on good terms with the Texan King despite leaving his employment suddenly when he discovered Sookie. "And Peter Threadgill shouldn't be a difficult." It was well known that Threadgill was not a strong leader, and Arkansas was suffering because of it. It wouldn't have surprised me if someone made a play for the state, with Oklahoma probably being the likeliest contender.

"But Mississippi will be," I finished for Godric.

"What's the problem?" Sookie asked.

"The problem is that I don't want to expose you. I don't want any of my neighbours knowing that you are a telepath let alone half-vampire."

"Can't you just tell them you found out this information through normal intelligence methods?"

"We'll have to. But I am not sure that Russell Edgington of Mississippi will accept that explanation. He is an ancient and annoyingly intelligent vampire, as well as being a collector of rare artefacts. He'd just love to get his hands on a telepath."

Sookie looked a little scared, and rightly so. I pulled her close to me and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Neither Godric or I are going to do anything that will risk your safety. But I need you to be aware and stay vigilant. There are many vampires that in discovering a telepath in their kingdom would have locked you away. And if I'm totally honest, I probably would have done the same had I not smelt Godric's scent on you."

"I'm glad you didn't do that," she said with a smile. "I don't think I'd have liked you nearly as much."

I smiled back for a moment. "You said that you, Tray and Amelia have made plans to go back to the church?"

I wasn't happy about the thought of Sookie going back into danger, but as the first time hadn't gone as badly as I feared, I wasn't quite as anxious.

"Yes. Although I doubt I will get much from anyone other than Newlin, so it depends on how much he will be there." She obviously saw the look of reluctance on my face. "Eric, I can't quit now. We're on to something, and they don't suspect us of being anything other than vampire haters. We need to find out more – you know that."

Unfortunately, I did. "I don't like it." I looked over to Godric as I was torn whether to pull the plug now or not.

"I think we should let them go next week and see what that brings. We can play it by ear after that."

Sookie shot a grateful smile at Godric before turning to me. "I'll be fine. I'll be in your bed each night that you wake, I promise you."

She did keep her promise to me.

She spent her weeks doing online courses from a local university, spending time with both Godric and me at night when we weren't too busy, as well as training with Tray and Amelia. And I had made a point of allowing myself more leisure time than I ever had done even as a sheriff.

She practically moved into my house with me so that I could wake each night to find her warm and curvy body naked and in my bed.

She kept her promise to me until one night she broke it: one night she wasn't there curled up to my side. One night that she'd gone to Monroe with Tray and Amelia and she hadn't come back.

* * *

><p><strong>Dun, dun duh!<strong>

**What's happened? Is Sookie just late or has something sinister happened?**

**I'd love to know your thoughts.**

**;)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Lux Æterna – Chapter 16**

* * *

><p><strong>Sookie<strong>

* * *

><p>"Sook?"<p>

I turned quickly at the use of my real name and saw Jason standing in front of me with a dumbfounded yet guilty expression on his face. I wondered what the hell he was doing at the Fellowship meeting, although I had a very bad idea that I already knew.

I grabbed his arm and pulled him to the side, using my telepathy to find out whether anyone had noticed what Jason had said. Luckily, there weren't people that close to us, and no one was paying any attention to us considering Steve Newlin was telling everyone the special plans for the evening.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I hissed at him when we were alone.

"I just … you know …" he trailed off and ran a hand over his head. He shrugged. "Vampires."

"What about them? You hate them now?"

"Well you're here! I thought you were dating one?"

"Keep it down," I snapped.

"Well what?"

I sighed. "I'm here to see what this is about. And my name is Anna Lynn Patterson, by the way."

"No it's not…"

I did worry about my brother at times. "I've given them a false name. Please don't blow my cover, Jason, I may be in danger if you do." I paused for dramatic effect. "I may be killed."

It was a little extreme, but I hoped that Jason cared enough to not want me to get killed because of him.

"Sure thing," he said with an unconvincing shrug of his shoulders.

I was getting antsy at his presence. "So want to tell me why you're here?"

He shrugged. "I met with Mr Newlin a few weeks back and got talking to him. He told me loads about vampires that I didn't know. Did you know that they can alter minds?"

I took a deep breath to calm myself and avoided his question. "But I thought you were okay with Eric when you met him."

"I was ..."

"So that's changed now?" I snapped. "Why are you here?"

"When he called me the other day he said they were going to toast a vampire tonight. Thought I'd come along and check it out."

My blood ran cold at the thought of it. I swallowed thickly and tried my best to keep my emotions hidden. "Fine. Just don't blow my cover. It'll be best to stay away from me."

He shrugged once more. "Sure thing."

I shook my head and walked away from him. I again listened closely to those around me in case anyone had noticed the interaction between Jason and me, but it didn't seem that way. I looked around and found that Amelia and Tray were standing near Steve Newlin and appeared to be listening to him intently. But I could see the barely concealed anger on Tray's face, so I didn't doubt that they were hearing the same news that I'd just been told.

"_They're going to put on a display tonight and burn a vampire. They must have a vampire kept captive somewhere,"_ Tray thought at me. _"Scan around and see if he or she is here already."_

I did just that, lowering my shields completely and scanning as far as I could go. I'd discovered already that I could tell where sleeping vampires were even though they were dead for the day, but when I did so, I found no vampires in the vicinity. Which meant they had to be bringing him or her to the church later.

I shook my head to Tray to let him know what I had discovered as I slowly approached the group.

"_Shit. Sookie, we're going to have to stay. Let Eric and Godric know, as we may need back up."_

I nodded discretely to him and then indicated that I needed to talk to one of them. It was Amelia who came and found me while I quickly texted Eric and Godric and then deleted the message from my sent box.

"My brother Jason is here," I whispered to her when we were alone.

"Fuck."

"I know. He's already nearly blown my cover."

Amelia looked thoughtful for a moment. "Why don't you glamour him into forgetting who you are for the day."

I wasn't sure about that considering I didn't know what I'd be doing, however it was certainly a good idea, and I hoped that Eric would be able to help me if I did any damage. Although I wasn't sure how much damage _could_ be done in Jason's mind.

"I'll give it a go."

People were generally milling around the church and its grounds, and there was an excitement in the air with the pending arrival of the captured vampires. I was horrified when I read Steve Newlin's mind and discovered what the plans for the day were. It seemed that there was a courtyard to the back of the church where a wooden funeral pyre had been built with a long pole in the centre to tie the vampire to in silver.

It was horrific, and I felt nauseous at the thought of what they would do to that vampire. What I did know was that was one way or another, I was going to break up this party. I was not going to let an innocent vampire be burned on the stake.

I noticed Jason walking off in the direction of the toilets, and I hung around waiting for him to come out. When he did, I surreptitiously called him over to me where no one else would see us. Once he was up close and met my eyes, I pushed into his mind, feeling that I had him under my glamour.

"Jason, you don't know me. I am not your sister; you haven't seen your sister Sookie for over a month. But when I say the word 'bananafish' you will remember everything."

I wasn't sure whether the whole magic word thing would work, but as it worked for hypnotism, it was worth a shot. I released him from my glamour and immediately looked into his mind. It seemed that it did work, as when he was looking at me, his eyes dropped to my breasts and he smiled appreciatively. He gave me a seductive wink and held out his hand to me.

"Hi, the name's Jason Stackhouse, but you can call me anything you want."

I had never felt more nauseated in my life, and I couldn't for the life of me work out why any women fell for Jason's charm. But unless he had the ability to glamour women as well, which I severely doubted he did, he must have something.

Still, I wasn't about to stand by and be hit on by the man I'd known as my brother my whole life, even if I wasn't technically related to him.

"I'm Anna Lynn. And sorry, I'm not interested."

I smiled at him as sweetly as I could and scooted past him. Jason just stared dumbfounded, obviously surprised that any female would be able to pass him up. Personally, I wished that I would be able to glamour myself into forgetting that, as I was sure I was going to have nightmares about it. Still, at least now I didn't need to worry about Jason inadvertently putting his foot in it and dropping me in deep shit.

Checking my watch, I saw that it was probably an hour or so before sunset, which meant that Godric and Eric would be waking. I didn't doubt that both of them would be worried about me, and Eric in particular had become used to me in his bed when he woke. Not that it wasn't enjoyable for me either, as it usually involved a session of hot morning sex with a horny vampire. And I got to feed as well, which was always a bonus.

Almost as expected, I felt my phone buzz in my pocket to reveal a text message from Eric.

"_Why aren't you here? Where are you? Are you okay?"_

I could almost hear the panic coming off him, so I quickly text back as I headed back to the crowd where Amelia and Tray were waiting for me. We had no option but to wait this out as we had to help this captured vampire. I hit send on my phone, deleted the message and prayed that we'd get out of this alive.

.

**Eric**

I waited impatiently for seventy seconds before my phone chimed with another message from Sookie.

"_I'm still at the church in Monroe. There are around twenty-five humans here, and more will arrive later. At midnight, they're planning on burning a vampire, who they're going to bring onto the site. We can't leave now. Also, my brother is here, although I've glamoured him into forgetting he knows me. We're going to need help and back up. I love you."_

This wasn't good. I wanted Sookie as far away from there as possible, but I knew all too well that she wasn't going to do as I asked. And more to the point, she would probably be offended that I asked her to get to safety. She was too brave for her own good at times.

I showed the message to Godric who had joined me as soon as he'd woken and read her message.

I took a deep breath and allowed myself to feel worried for Sookie for a few seconds before clearing my mind. We had a vampire to rescue, a party to break up and I needed to get my woman back.

.

"Pam, we have an issue," I barked into the phone. "The Fellowship group that Sookie has been looking into are planning on burning a captured vampire tonight."

"_Burning a vampire? I think they're mixing up their torture methods."_ Her voice was as sarcastic as ever, but I wasn't in the mood for her snark tonight.

"Not the time, Pamela." She always knew I was pissed off with her not to press me if I used her full name. "Gather as many vampires as you can to meet us just outside of Monroe. I will send you the coordinates. And make sure they are well armed."

"_We're attacking the humans?"_

I'd hoped it wouldn't come to this. I had hoped that Sookie's intelligence on the Fellowship's activities would allow us to make a more stealthy attack when they were least expecting it, and certainly not when there were so many humans in one place.

"We need to be prepared. They are planning on murdering a vampire tonight, and we have to stop them. We can't attack first. But if they attack us, then we will use whatever force necessary. We will be at your house, ten minutes after dark."

I didn't need to tell Pam that human's shouldn't die unnecessarily, and I trusted her to pass on that message to the Area vampires she'd be sending to meet us. It would be a PR nightmare if we went in all guns blazing, and I knew that after the event it was going to need to be carefully managed.

However, with the evidence that we did have from Sookie, I was certain that documents could be 'accidentally' leaked to the press, which would make our case much better. However, firstly we had to get Sookie safely out of that church and rescue the captured vampire.

Godric and I both quickly showered and dressed. Underneath my t-shirt, I wore a lightweight Kevlar vest that had been designed to be stake-proof. This was the first time I'd tried the thing out, although I wasn't planning on let anyone get a stake anywhere near me. Godric and Pam also had vests to wear, and if they worked well, I planned on making sure all vampires had them for any kind of assault mission.

Once we'd both fed and as soon as it was full dark, we flew to Pam's house to organise the attack. She'd already called in on seven of her vampires, and the ten of us seemed a good enough number. I went over the plan with Pam that Godric and I had devised, and she helped us with the extras we needed. She wasn't happy about the plan, and I knew she wouldn't be, but it seemed like the best option.

It was a problem that Sookie's brother had managed to get himself involved with the Fellowship, and I imagined Sookie would be annoyed with him once this was over. But it was clear he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, and was probably easily led.

Godric and I flew to the meeting point outside of Monroe, while most of the others drove. Once we were all gathered I addressed the vampires and let them know our plan. For the most part, they were back up for Godric, Pam and me. I knew they were surprised that I was even getting involved at all, as the previous Queen of Louisiana had been one to sit safely in her 'sun room' in the New Orleans palace rather than ever get her hands dirty. But I wasn't that kind of ruler, and the fact that Sookie was in there made things very different.

I showed all the vampires a picture of Sookie and told them to look out for her. I explained that she was my pet, which of course wasn't the case, but it was the simplest way of connecting myself to her without the vampires becoming suspicious of our closeness. I didn't have a picture of Jason Stackhouse to hand, but I described him to all of the vampires in attendance.

On the maps we had of the church, I indicated where I wanted all of the vampires to stand and wait for a signal that we needed their assistance. With the amplified hearing of vampires, we didn't need anything to communicate, and if I gave the signal from the church, then we would have backup immediately.

"I can't believe I'm doing this again," Pam grumbled as she liberally applied fake tan to all exposed skin. She was wearing a long sleeved top and jeans, which meant that she wasn't displaying too much skin, but she was complaining all the same. Godric and I both did the same, and silently agreed with Pam's more vocal complaints.

The plan was to simply walk into the meeting and get Sookie, Tray, Amelia and the captured vampire the hell out of there. But I think we all knew it wasn't going to be quite that easy, which is why we had the backup.

I hadn't heard anything else from Sookie, so I was hopeful that nothing had happened, although the fact that I hadn't felt any panic from her told me that things were probably okay.

.

**Sookie**

It was worse than I had anticipated. The vampire who had been brought in obviously hadn't been much over eighteen when she'd been turned, and had probably been a vampire less than ten years. I didn't know where her maker was, but I suspected that as she hadn't been found, her maker was either dead or captured as well.

She was fighting valiantly against her captors, but I could see she was in pain from the silver chains burning her skin, and she'd obviously lost a lot of blood. Somehow, I doubted she'd been fed much while in captivity.

"Calm it," Tray said, quietly, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I unclenched my hands from the fists I'd formed by my sides and tried to relax by body. Four burly looking men had dragged the vampire through the crowd and set about chaining her to the large pole on top of the pyre. She obviously realised what was going to happen and started screaming curses.

Her foul language only seemed to insight the crowd more, with many hurling abuse back at her. Steve and Sarah Newlin stood watching everything unfold, although while Sarah looked uncomfortable, her husband looked like the cat that got the cream. I hoped that I'd get the chance to personally run a stake through his chest.

Amelia, Tray and I joined the crowds so that we wouldn't stand out, and I was disgusted to see that my brother was one of the ones hurling abuse at the vampire.

"Ladies and gentleman," Steve Newlin suddenly said, a microphone in his hand so everyone would hear him. "Thank you all for joining us tonight on this momentous occasion."

A cheer went up from the crowd, and the three of us reluctantly joined in. The vampire had quietened down as well, obviously wanting to hear what he had to say for himself as well.

"I'd like to introduce you all to Sheridan." A loud boo rose up from the audience as everyone's attention turned to the vampire. "She was made into a vampire nine years ago, and has been terrorising the residents of New Orleans since then; feeding on their children and killing innocent humans."

"Liar," the vampire said. "I have never fed on a child, and I don't kill. You're the killer!"

I agreed completely, but everyone else in the crowd started jeering at her again.

"Quiet," Newlin barked at her. "Or I'll just gag you. No one wants to hear what you have to say." She glared at him, but said no more. He turned back to the crowd. "Tonight, I am going to show you how easy it is to kill a vampire. As unholy creatures, they have unnatural strengths, and one-on-one, a normal person will not come out on top against a vampire. However, a stake through the heart isn't the only way to kill a vampire."

"Come on!" someone yelled in jubilation from the crowd, and then more people cheered.

"Yes, my friends. A vampire is the enemy of daylight, but more than that, they can be burned."

More cheers went up from the crowd, and I felt Amelia grab my hand.

"_We have to do something, Sook, that vampire is scared out of her mind. Maybe I can perform some witchcraft to distract them?"_

I turned my head to her and spoke quietly. "No. We don't want them burning the witch as well. We need to wait for Eric and Godric."

She nodded but I could see how uncomfortable she was. And she wasn't the only one. I was desperate to help, but there were probably forty humans in the area, and we didn't have any weapons with us that would be much use.

"In two hours' time," Steve Newlin went on, "on the stroke of midnight, we will burn this abomination, and you all will see what happens!"

Everyone cheered loudly, shouting at the vampire who now had blood-red tears staining her cheeks. I wanted nothing more than to run up to the pyre and release her, but that wasn't going to solve anything. Many people were still standing around the pyre, and although Sheridan would be able to move at vampire speed out of there, Tray, Amelia and I wouldn't be able to do the same.

I caught Amelia's eye as we headed with most other people over to the tables where a spread of food had been put out for us. Personally, there was no way I could eat, but that didn't seem to stop Tray who was piling the food on his plate. I was quite sure that it wasn't just for show, as the man certainly had an appetite on him.

"How are y'all doing," a voice from behind me said.

I stared in surprise at the face of Godric, who was standing with Pam next to him. Both of them were obviously wearing fake tan, as they didn't have their normally shimmering white skin. Godric looked fairly similar to normal in how he was dressed: a pair of beige slacks and a lightweight blue sweater. However, Pam looked uncomfortable in her knee-length denim skirt, V-neck black sweater and knee-high boots.

"Hi," I stuttered, looking to Amelia and Tray who were also staring at the vampires in front of us as dumbly as I was. "I'm good. You alright?"

"I've been better," Pam said with a role of her eyes.

"Friends of yours?"

I turned quickly to my left to see Steve Newlin stood smiling beside us. I swallowed thickly and mustered all the courage I could. "Yes. You said that we could bring friends along, so I did. Steve, please meet Gerard and Phoebe." It was the best I could come up with at the short notice, and I saw a look of amusement briefly in Godric's eyes. "Guys, please meet Reverend Steve Newlin."

I was paying close attention to Steve to make sure that he didn't realise he was talking to vampires, and I flinched briefly when Steve held out a hand for Godric to shake. However, Amelia had noticed that he'd had a hand-warmer in his hand, which he quickly dropped before shaking hands with the reverend, and both him and Pam were pretending to breathe.

"Nice to meet you," Godric lied as he shook his hand. "I have read your book."

Steve nodded his head slightly. "You would be amazed how evil vampires are," Steve told him, leaning in but smiling all the while.

"I know," Godric said with a smile, but didn't expand on it. "The vampire up there … how did you capture her?"

Steve laughed to himself. "She walked straight into our trap. Vampires are dumb, and they are remarkably easy to catch. Or certainly the young ones are. Our aim is to catch an old one and make him or meet the sun. That is meant to be quite a display when they burst into flames."

I grabbed Pam's hand to stop her from lunging at Newlin, and I looked over his shoulder to see Eric standing talking to some female who had obviously approached him. He too was wearing fake tan to make him look more lifelike, and looked unlike himself in pair of grey slacks and a dark blue t-shirt. Although he did still look incredibly hot, hence the female attention he was getting. I tried my best to keep my jealousy under control, but from the smirk on Eric's face, I guessed I had failed.

Godric and Steve carried on talking, and I noticed Eric slowly walking in the direction of the captured vampire, who obviously recognised him as her king. I noticed that Eric was wearing gloves, and I didn't doubt that he was about to set the vampire free.

Knowing things were about to kick off, I turned my attention back to Steve so that I didn't give away anything, but I wasn't listening to what he was saying. Instead, I was aware of someone screaming something, and the word 'vampire' was definitely said.

The whole place erupted into panic.

I looked to the pyre to see that the vampire was no longer there, obviously having been told by Eric to get the hell out of there. Eric himself was drawing attention to himself, standing on the pyre and baring his fangs at all those around him. People were in a mad panic, and most – including my brother – were running in the direction of the parking lot. That was fine, it was better that they ran away with a genuine fear of what was to come, and those people wouldn't be harmed.

Steve Newlin, however, was stunned into silence, before starting to bark out order to kill Eric. Obviously, Pam was having none of that, and she came up behind Steve, placing a hand over his mouth and whispered into his ear.

I couldn't tell what she said to him, but he looked genuinely scared, and screamed when Pam picked him up and threw him over her shoulder. Much to his startled amazement, Pam promptly ran – in her high-heeled boots and carrying a man who probably weighed one and a half times her weight – away from the church.

Godric herded Amelia, Tray and I to one side and addressed Tray. "Keep her safe," he growled out, to which Tray simply nodded, already knowing his job.

Godric then disappeared in a blur of movement to where Eric was taking on four human males at once. There were two more on the periphery, but otherwise everyone else had left the area. All four humans were armed with stakes, but lacked the ability to get anywhere near Eric to use the thing.

It was clear that Godric and Eric were in no trouble and simple taunting the humans. They would lunge every now and again, but my vampires either dodged them altogether or threw them of the floor. From their thoughts, I could read that they were tiring and severely doubting what Steve Newlin had told them about vampires.

The two on the periphery were both planning on leaving, considering they were watching their friends get their assess kicked by Godric and Eric, but it was the unseen one on the roof of the church that was the problem.

I hadn't been aware of him before then, but I heard his calculating mind. I wasn't concerned at first, knowing vampires couldn't be killed by normal bullets, but the sniper didn't have normal bullets. He had wooden ones.

"Shit," I hissed to myself. "Tray, there's a sniper on the roof. Get up there."

"I'm not leaving you."

"You have to," I begged, panic overtaking me. "He has wooden bullets. He's going to kill Eric or Godric. Go!"

"Fine, but stay out of trouble."

Tray paused for a moment before running from us in the direction of the church. But it was going to be too late. I saw in his mind that the sniper was lining up a shot on Eric. He'd somehow known that Eric was an important vampire in Louisiana, and was to kill him first and foremost.

It struck me that the only thing I could do was to distract him. So I broke free of Amelia's hold on me and ran in the direction of the fight.

"Eric! Godric! There's a sniper on the roof of the church. Get down!"

The men surrounding Eric turned to look at me as I yelled to the vampires. Both Eric and Godric made quick work of incapacitating all four men while they had their attention on me.

"Stay back!" Eric barked at me, but I carried on running. I wasn't going to let one of my vampires me killed by a wooden bullet.

I heard in the sniper's mind that he was going to fire, and I screamed loudly for everyone to get down.

And they did; both vampires fell to the floor. Eric had pulled me down with him, and had been trying to shield me with his body, but I felt the burning pain rip through my back as the bullet struck me.

"No … Sookie," I heard Eric yell and pull me into his arms, but I didn't have the energy to move. All I could feel was the intense pain in my back, and I was barely aware of his cool wrist being shoved in front of my mouth with a command to drink.

After that, all went black.

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><p><strong>Sorry – another cliffhanger! What are Eric and Godric going to do? What of the sniper? What is Pam going to do with Steve Newlin?<strong>

**I'd love to know your thoughts.**

**Drumbjo**

**x**


	17. Chapter 17

**Sorry for posting a day late – we had a fire alarm go off in our flats yesterday evening when I normally write, so I didn't get as much written as I'd hoped to. Although I have realised that the idea of good-looking firemen is a myth. Annoyingly!**

**Anyway, that's for the continued support. I love reading the reviews and it keeps me motivated.**

**On with the show ...**

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><p><strong>Lux Æterna – Chapter 17<strong>

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><p><strong>Eric<strong>

"Sookie, come on. Drink."

I had my torn-open wrist over her mouth, while supporting her body in the way that would shove my blood down her throat the easiest. Godric was next to me and applying his blood directly to her back where the bullet had hit her. I didn't remember a time that I'd been more scared, and it only reinforced the point of not only how fragile Sookie was, but how important she was to me as well.

"She's healing," Godric told me quietly and I breathed a sigh of relief. "The bullet is being pushed out."

I watched Sookie's back and saw the bullet come out of the open wound as her body healed itself unexpectedly quickly. The bullet itself, however, was larger than normal, and as he studied it, I saw a distinct pissed off expression on my maker's face.

"It's wooden," he said with a growl. One matched by my own at the thought of the Fellowship using wooden bullets. It meant that they had a very good weapon against vampires and one that we would certainly have to be careful about.

Sookie was now feeding herself at my wrist, and I stroked her hair as she did so. I was aware that many other vampires were looking on, as the ones who had been surrounding the church had all come forward to take hold of the humans when the sniper fired.

Sookie pulled back from my wrist and moved in my arms. She looked up at me, her big blue eyes showing signs of tears from the pain, but no fear. "Eric?"

"Hey. How do you feel?" I ran a finger down her cheek.

"Like I was shot in the back," she said with a faint smile.

I gave her a smile. "You're okay?"

She nodded. "Yes. Is Godric okay?"

"I'm fine, Sookie," he said from behind her.

She let out a relieved breath and squirmed in my arms. I was still aware of the vampires looking on, and I knew I needed to do something and get Sookie away from the church. I leaned in close to her, knowing that only she and Godric would hear me.

"I'm sorry for what I'm about to do. You know I don't mean you any offence. We will speak later."

She gave me a quizzical look as I stood up. I caught Godric's eye and he gave me a nod of his head that told me he'd explain fully to Sookie once she was safely away from the church.

"You have done well, pet," I said to her as I cupped her face in my hand. It wasn't loud so that it seemed that I was putting on a show, but I was aware I could be overheard. "I will reward you well when I see you next."

Sookie opened her mouth to protest, but Godric gave her a gently nudge and pulled her up from the floor. I sent her an apology through the bond we shared, and I felt her understand what I had to do.

"Yes, Sir," she said with a bow of her head and a cheeky smile on her lips.

I felt my cock grow hard at her out of character submission to me, and I could feel her amusement. However, from centuries of schooling my emotions, I didn't let anything show on my face.

"Godric, take her away from here, I have matters to deal with." I turned around and looked to where Tray Dawson was arriving back on the scene dragging an unconscious human who I assumed was the sniper. "Get rid of the wolf and witch as well."

Dawson knew well enough how vampire politics worked, so dropped the sniper where he was standing and led Amelia away when Godric and Sookie started to head to the cars. I imagined the two girls would be angry at being spoken to in such a way, but as humans I had to show that I was in control of them.

"Nice," one of the vampires said when they were leaving, his eyes fixed on Sookie's ass as she walked away.

"She is enjoyable," I said dismissively. I didn't want it known that she was my bonded and mate.

"Do you share her?" another one asked.

"No."

"Are you sure?" a third asked. "Godric seemed to…"

I wasn't going to be questioned like that, and flew at the offending vampire and threw him to the ground, my fangs drawn and a snarl on my lips. "I said that I do not share. What happens with Godric is not of your concern."

I knew this painted the picture that I did share Sookie with Godric, and the only way they would assume I did was sexually. But that was probably the easiest assumption to let others vampires make, and I hoped Sookie would understand why I had to let them think that.

"Do not piss me off again," I said to the vampire as I climbed off him and went to where the sniper was still unconscious and face down on the floor. I kicked him over to see that he was probably no more than twenty years old, with blond hair and a youthful but fit appearance.

I turned to Clancy, who I had known for several decades since becoming King of Louisiana. "Take him to the holding cell underneath Fangtasia. Pam will already be there with Newlin, so make sure that he is secured. And I don't want him talking to Newlin."

Clancy nodded and hauled the human up off the floor before leaving to do as I asked. I turned to the remaining vampires who were holding the six scared humans hostage.

"Please don't kill me," one of them started blabbering, tears falling from his eyes. I wasn't in the mood to deal with crying humans. I wanted to check in on Pam and Newlin, and then I wanted to get back to Sookie.

"Shut up," I ordered. "All of you, look at me." Once I had all six men under my thrall I glamoured them into forgetting all of what had happened at the church, changed their opinions of vampires, and gave each one of them the compulsion to move to different parts of Canada. Quite simply, it was easier than hiding the bodies, and in these times it wasn't as easy to dispose of a body as it always used to be.

Once I released the humans, I dealt with the vampires. "Go, all of you. But be aware that a war is brewing. The fellowship will not like what has happened today, and we have their leader. There is likely to be a retaliation, possibly through the media, so stay sharp. And no one is to talk of my human. I will know if you do."

The threat I made was clear, and when I was sure they understood, I flew up into the sky to go to Fangtasia. Clancy and the sniper had yet to arrive as they travelled by road, but when I descended the stairs to the basement, I was amused to see Pam toying with Steve Newlin.

The reverend had been stripped of his shirt and was in shackles against the cold and wet stone wall. Pam, meanwhile, was holding a riding crop in her hand and the evidence of her work was on Newlin's chest and arms. The vampire really could be quite sadistic at times, and I was pleased with how well I had mentored her.

"Get this vampire bitch away from me," Newlin complained when he saw me enter.

I smiled a fangy smile. "Really? You won't like me any more."

I bared my fangs at him and he had the decency to look scared.

"Having fun?" I asked my child, although the answer was obvious from the uncharacteristic smile on her lips.

"Oh yes. Can I keep him?"

"We'll see. First, I want to know what he's up to."

Steve Newlin had an unpleasing smile on his lips that bordered on being a sneer. "Try all you like, vampire." He said his words with smug satisfaction, and Pam rewarded him with another slap to the chest with the riding crop.

I gave Pam a look before pushing my mind into his. Only somehow, I couldn't glamour him. It wasn't like when I had tried to glamour Sookie, but somehow I just couldn't get a hold of his mind.

"Did you try?" I asked Pam in Swedish.

"No. Are you unable to?" She'd responded to me in the same language so the human would not understand us.

"It seems to be the case. I have not met a full human that I could not glamour. And, more disturbingly, he knew that I wouldn't be able to. I fear the Fellowship may have more tricks up their sleeve than we had anticipated."

I turned my attention back to the human. "Problem, vampire?"

I growled and hit him in the stomach. "No, it just makes it more fun. I much prefer to torture information out of my victims." I gave him a sinister smile and walked away with Pam following me.

I spoke to her once we were out of the out of the basement and back in her office. "After you left with Newlin, Sookie discovered a sniper on the roof."

Pam gasped a little and raised an eyebrow. "Was anyone hurt?"

"Sookie. She ran towards us probably aware that the sniper was using wooden bullets. I'm going to speak to her next as I had Godric take her, the witch and the wolf away. She could have been killed."

Pam shook her head. "She will want watching, that one. Too damn brave for her own good."

"It could be called foolishness," I growled out, finally allowing my fears to take place. She could have been killed. And no one was to know whether a wooden bullet would affect her in the same way it would a full vampire. And I was also damned near certain she wouldn't have survived a bullet to the head.

"She was trying to save your life," she gently chided.

"I was wearing Kevlar."

"Something she didn't know about."

I gave Pam a look that said 'shut up', to which she simply rolled her eyes over. "Clancy is bringing in the sniper in. I glamoured the other humans to leave the state and love their neighbours."

"Really, Eric? You're getting soft in your old age."

I growled at her. "It was easier than disposing the bodies. Sometimes I long for the days that a human could go missing without their face appearing on a milk carton."

"I'll second that."

"When the human gets here, have him locked up in a separate cell to Newlin. Have him chained, blindfolded and gagged, and I think some tortuous music wouldn't go amiss."

"Justin Bieber?" she asked, although I had no idea what or who that was.

"Whatever, as long as it is mind-numbingly awful."

"The Bieber it is."

I still had no idea what Pam was talking about, but she seemed to be amusing herself.

"Fine. Allow the humans to have some food and water before sundown, I want them in tip-top condition."

She grinned at me. "Of course."

With that, I left Fangtasia and headed home to speak to Sookie.

.

**Sookie**

"Are you sure you're okay?" Godric asked me for what felt like the hundredth time as we drove back to Shreveport.

"Yes, I am. No residual pain or anything, although I could really do with a shower." I was aware at how messy I was, and turned to Tray who was sitting in the back of the SUV. "Sorry for getting blood on your seats." I'd wanted to put some plastic down before I got in, but Godric was insistent that we left straight away.

Tray just shrugged. "No matter. This car has had plenty of blood on it. I know a wolf that specialises in getting rid of blood from things."

Somehow, that didn't surprise me.

Godric still seemed tense, and I was worried he was angry with me for allowing myself to get shot. "Are you mad at me?" I asked him quietly.

He let out a breath. "No," he said before pausing. "Yes. I'm angry that you were shot, not with you. I hate that you got hurt because of us."

I placed a hand on his arm. "I was fine."

"You might not have been. If it hadn't been for Eric feeding you his blood, you may have died."

"Not necessarily," I said with a shrug. Godric turned to look at me, a query in his eyes. "I'm part vampire. I may have some of your healing skills."

He looked serious for a moment, obviously querying my suggestion. "It is possible. When I tended to your wound, you seemed to heal much quicker than I would have expected you to."

Godric didn't say any more, and the car remained quiet in an uneasy silence until we dropped Amelia and Tray back at their house.

"Tray, I would like to speak to you," Godric said as we all climbed out of the car. Tray nodded and followed Godric around the side of their small detached home. Amelia led me inside and handed me a much needed large glass of wine.

"Thanks. I need this." I drained half the glass and looked to Amelia, who was giving me an unusual look. "What?"

"You're with Eric."

I nodded. "You know that." I had told Amelia about my relationship with Eric, as I could hardly keep it quiet when he was very hands-on when we were together.

"I do. But what's with Godric? Are you with him as well?"

The very thought of it made me feel a little sick. "No! Why would you ask that?"

"Vampires often share their humans. I didn't think you would … but I'd never expect a vampire such as Eric to allow another vampire to feed their human blood."

Shit. I hadn't thought of that. And no doubt all the other vampires there probably thought I was sleeping with both of them.

"Vampires do that?"

She nodded. "It's well known. Vampires often pass humans around between them when they share a nest."

"That's just … that's just wrong." I was still feeling disgusted at the thought of it, and very glad that Eric didn't dare to do such a thing. "I'm a one vampire kind of gal." I assured Amelia.

She still had a ponderous look on her face, however. "Well what's with it then. Godric looked as concerned about you as Eric did."

I sighed realising I was in a difficult situation. Amelia had certainly noticed that something was up and I couldn't deny it. "I can't tell you, Amelia. There is something, but I can't tell you. If I did it would probably put you and Tray in danger as well. Just trust me, neither one is hurting me, and Eric is the one I am with. Can you leave it at that?"

She gave me a long look before nodding and taking a mouthful of wine. "Sure. As long as you're okay."

"I am. And thank you for caring."

We hugged briefly before Godric came back. Tray appeared to be in one piece, which I was pleased about. Godric secured his arms around me and we shot up into the air, something I had never quite gotten used to.

"You said the right thing to Amelia," Godric told me once we landed at Eric's house.

"Other vampires would have noticed as well," I stated, not bothering to make it a question.

"Yes. And Eric will have dealt with that."

"Do vampires really pass human between them?" I took a seat in the kitchen and sat at the counter. Godric joined me and handed me a mug of hot chocolate.

"Many do. Eric and I have before; we've shared females."

It made me feel a little queasy, but I appreciated his honesty. "Recently?"

"No. Not since before I met your mother. It was why I never introduced her to Eric, I didn't want him anywhere near her as I always thought he'd want her as well or expect me to share her. I would never have let any vampire go anywhere near Niamh, and Eric won't let anyone near you. It is different when a vampire and human bond together."

I knew that Eric wouldn't share me with anyone. That vampire was as possessive as they came even though we hadn't spent much time with any other vampire than Godric or Pam.

"I know. But that's not what other vampires are going to think, is it?"

"No, they won't. But in some ways it will be safer for them to assume it is the case."

I stared at him open-mouthed. "Seriously?"

"We will discuss this more when Eric gets back, but it will be safer than anyone suspected the truth." I shook my head not quite believing what he was saying. "Eric and I are two of the oldest vampires in the US. It only protects you more for any vampire to think that you belong to both of us."

I did understand his point, but that didn't mean I was happy about it. "I'm going to shower," I announced before going below to the bedroom I shared with Eric and climbing into the huge Eric-sized shower.

I took my time, making sure that all the dried blood was off me. I threw away the clothes I'd been wearing, as they were blood-stained, and I'd realised that it wasn't the easiest thing to get out. Still, I didn't like throwing clothes out unnecessarily.

By the time I'd dried my hair, changed into clean clothes and headed back upstairs, Eric was back. And by the looks of it, him and Godric were having a serious conversation. But of course they stopped as soon as I was close so I didn't hear a word of what either one of them was saying.

Eric was on me in an instant, pulling me close to his chest and burying his head in my hair. I let his scent overwhelm me for a moment and clung onto him almost as tightly as he was holding onto me.

"I have never been more scared," he whispered into my hair. "Seeing you be shot … Sookie, promise me you will not do that again."

I pulled back to meet his eyes, which seemed pink around the rims. I'd never seen Eric be close to tears before, and it pained me to see him hurt. Any anger I may have felt disappeared seeing how much he cared about my safety, but I still wasn't going to lie to him.

"I can't promise that, Eric. For you and Godric I would always do all I can to protect you."

"I don't want you to." He placed his hand on my cheek. "I could not live with myself if you got hurt. You must not do that again, Sookie." He silenced any comeback with a deep, passionate and needy kiss that left me breathless and feeling tingly all over. Eric really had the ability to throw me completely of course when he wanted to. "You should have stayed where you were."

I pulled back from him and let me go. "Eric, the man had wooden bullets! One of them through your chest and you'd have been dead. Finally dead. You say that you cannot live if anything happened to me … well I feel the same about you and Godric. I couldn't _not_ do anything."

Eric sighed and pulled me into his arms again. "You are too brave for your own good. I want to keep you safe, Sookie. We both do. But I do understand that you want to protect us as well."

Godric came up behind me and placed a hand on my back. "We were protected. All three of us walked into the dragon's den by turning up at that church through the front door. We were wearing Kevlar vests, which are pretty much stake proof."

"I didn't know that," I told them.

Eric ran hand through his hair. "And we should have told you. But you still shouldn't have run to us like that. You could have shouted. We would have reacted." He paused to growl for a moment. "Dawson should have kept you safe."

I crossed my arms across my chest, not liking where Eric was taking this conversation. "Oh no you don't. Do not blame this on Tray. He had to go and get that sniper."

"I gave him orders to stay where he was." Eric's anger would have been obvious even if I hadn't felt it through the bond. His eyes seemed to be a colder blue than normal.

I ignored Eric and turned to Godric. "What did you say to Tray when we went back to their house?"

Godric looked to Eric before answering me. "I told him that Eric would want to speak to him. Eric is right, he should have stayed with you and prevented you from being shot."

I stared at both of them dumbfounded. "He caught the sniper, who may well have got away if he hadn't done that. And who knows what would have happened if I hadn't run towards you. That sniper could have still killed you. I doubt you could survive you head being blown to pieces by a bullet."

"And nor could you," Eric growled at me taking a step closer. "You were foolish and imprudent to run towards us like that. I will be dealing with Dawson at a later date."

"You will not!" I snapped back.

"Do not question me, Sookie."

"Of course not, your majesty." My tone was biting and full of sarcasm, something only emphasised by the exaggerated bow I gave him.

"Sookie," he warned, his tone dangerous.

"Screw you," I snarled. "I'm going home."

With that, I turned on my heel, picked up my purse, which was luckily in the hallway and marched to my car. I half expected Eric to follow me, but it was Godric that did so.

"Sookie, do not leave here in anger." His tone was soothing and I really wanted to do what he said, but I was feeling way too stubborn.

"I'm going home, Godric. I need some time to think."

He gave me an understanding smile. "He is only worried for you. Eric is not used to being out of control, and you being shot like that meant exactly that. He loves you. And I know personally what it is like to lose a bonded; he would be heartbroken if anything happened to you."

"So he's just looking after himself?" I snapped. I was more than aware I was being childish, but I felt a little entitled to.

"Sookie."

"What? I'm going home. Don't bother following me or even contacting me."

With that, I climbed into my car and headed in the direction of Bon Temps. I tried hard not to cry on my journey back, but after about ten miles I realised I was failing miserably and allowed the tears to slide from my eyes. It was the first argument I'd had with Eric in all the time we'd known each other – or at least since the initial days when I didn't know him. And I was also aware that it was a stupid thing for us to be arguing over. We were both overly concerned for each other's safety – him for me and me for him – and both of us wanted to put the other one first. But what I didn't want to happen was for Tray to get in trouble with Eric, as he had absolutely not done anything wrong.

It was actually quite nice to be back at Gran's farmhouse. I hadn't spent much time there for the last few weeks as I'd been spending most of my time with Eric.

The house was quiet as it was four in the morning, and I listened to Gran's soft snore as I entered the house. Realising that my mind was way too active to sleep, I made myself a coffee and sat down in front of the TV to watch some crap shows about something or other. My mind was still on Eric, but he hadn't called or turned up at the door. And that upset me despite the fact that I had told him not to.

"Sookie?"

It was Gran's voice that woke me, and I realised I obviously had fallen asleep in front of the television. I had a blanket dropped over me, which Gran must have placed there, and the clock on the mantle told me that it was ten in the morning.

"Hey Gran," I said as I climbed up and went to give her a hug.

"What's wrong Sookie?"

My Gran always could read me like a book. "Nothing."

She raised an eyebrow at my lie. "Yes there is. Tell me."

I ended up telling her everything. She was already aware that I'd been going to the Fellowship meetings undercover, but had been appalled when I told her that Jason was there. She told me that I'd done the right thing in glamouring him, although pointed out that I needed to un-glamour him sooner rather than later.

"You can't blame him for being concerned about you," Gran told me in a firm voice when I'd finished.

"He's being overprotective."

"You are a thing to be treasured, my girl, and he knows that. He is an alpha male, and you have to remember that he is not of these times. Go to him tonight, Sookie. Do not allow your stubbornness cause problems between you."

Sometimes my Gran knew me too well.

"You're right. I was upset last night, and I hate arguing with him."

"You have certainly made your point. Be more reasonable and talk rather than shouting at each other."

I sighed and wrapped my arms around my gran. "How did you get so wise?"

"Years of practice."

I decided that it would be best to catch Jason unaware so planned on seeing him at Merlotte's where he tended to eat his lunch each day. I drove there around lunchtime and let out a sigh of relief when I saw that his shiny black pickup truck was in the parking lot. As I entered Merlotte's I spotted Jason at the bar and muttered the word 'bananafish' into his ear.

"Hey, Sook," he said almost immediately with a smile. "What are you doing here?" he'd wrapped an arm around my shoulders and I was relieved that all seemed okay with him.

"I just came to see my favourite brother."

"I'm your only brother." Sometimes I didn't know whether Jason was being serious or not, but this time he smiled to let me know he wasn't being as dumb as I thought he was.

"How've you been?"

He shrugged. "Okay. I'm a bit tired today."

"Late night?" I asked fishing for information.

"Kinda."

I peeked inside his mind and saw that he did remember what had happened the night before, but he wasn't going to tell me about it. I decided it was best to not say anything right now, but I'd ask Eric to glamour Jason at a later date so that he stayed away from the Fellowship.

"What the fuck?" I heard an unknown voice say behind me.

The man was looking at Jason and me, and I realised that he'd been at the church the night before.

"Stackhouse, how the fuck do you know this vampire-loving whore?"

I stared at him dumbfounded, and my brother did as well, still not aware that he'd seen me at the church.

"Hey, what is going on here?" Sam came up beside me and stared at the dark-haired man who'd spoken to me. He was probably in his mid-twenties and was wearing a black jacket and jeans. "You will not speak to anyone like that in my bar."

The unknown man narrowed his eyes at Sam before turning his attention back to me. I was seconds away from pulling him under my control when I felt a searing pain in my abdomen. I looked down to see the handle of a knife sticking out of my belly, and I could smell the blood as it pooled to the surface and ran down my body.

Sam and Jason were on the man in an instant while I collapsed into someone's arms. I looked up to see the faces of Tray and Amelia, not knowing quite when they got there, but glad all the same.

"I told Eric not to blame you," I spluttered to Tray as he carried me into the back room of Merlotte's.

"That doesn't matter, Sookie."

I drifted in and out of consciousness, as I was aware that Amelia and Tray were around me and talking quietly together. Amelia was holding a rag over my wound and seemed to be chanting some words in a language I didn't understand.

"Eric," I muttered to no one in particular.

"I know," Amelia told me. "We're going to stabilise you then take you to his house." I nodded but cried out in pain when I felt Tray move me. I was vaguely aware of a heated debate around me, but Tray carried me to the SUV and Amelia joined me in the back.

"I'm dying," I said to her.

"Just hold on," she said, ignoring my comment. "Hold on."

I wanted to, I really did.

But I could feel something growing inside of me. I wouldn't have been able to describe what the feeling was if I had been able to speak, but it was unusual and unexpected, but not unpleasant.

However, I was truly stunned when I felt myself leave the backseat of the SUV and reappear in a luxurious and bright white room in a place that I somehow knew was nowhere near Louisiana.

.

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah, so I'm throwing in a little weirdness for you all to try to get your head around!<strong>

**I'd love to know any thoughts!**

**I won't be updating next weekend as it's my birthday and the Hubs and I are going away for the weekend.**

**See you in a fortnight or so.**


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